Table 2.
Moral Distress as Reported by Physicians and Nurses
| Post-intervention mean (sd) |
Pre-intervention mean (sd) |
p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physician Responses | (n=36) | (n=38) | |
| Composite score | 51 (24) | 61 (32) | 0.15 |
| Q2: Witness healthcare providers giving “false hope” to the patient or family | 5 (3) | 7.3 (5) | 0.022* |
| Q3: Follow the family’s wishes to continue life support even though I believe it is not in the best interest of the patient. | 5.8 (4) | 6 (5) | 0.889 |
| Q4: Initiate extensive life-saving actions when I think they only prolong death. | 4.5 (4) | 4.7 (4) | 0.845 |
| Q7: Continue to participate in care for a hopelessly ill person who is being sustained on a ventilator, when no one will make a decision to withdraw support. | 4.4 (3) | 5.6 (5) | 0.256 |
| Q13: Request nurses or others not to discuss the patient’s prognosis with the patient or family. | 0.6 (1) | 0.6 (1) | 0.984 |
| Q18: Witness diminished patient care quality due to poor team communication. | 5 (4) | 6 (4) | 0.188 |
| Nurse Responses | (n=86) | (n=52) | |
| Composite Score | 82.6 (40) | 79.5 (47) | 0.698 |
| Q2: Witness healthcare providers giving “false hope” to a patient or family. | 7 (5) | 6.6 (5) | 0.655 |
| Q3: Follow the family’s wishes to continue life support even though I believe it is not in the best interest of the patient. | 8.3 (5) | 7.1 (5) | 0.162 |
| Q4: Initiate extensive life-saving actions when I think they only prolong death. | 7.3 (5) | 6.3 (5) | 0.223 |
| Q7: Continue to participate in care for a hopelessly ill person who is being sustained on a ventilator, when no one will make a decision to withdraw support. | 7.3 (5) | 5.9 (5) | 0.11 |
| Q13: Follow the physician’s request not to discuss the patient’s prognosis with the patient or family. | 1.8 (3) | 2.5 (4) | 0.281 |
| Q18: Witness diminished patient care quality due to poor team communication. | 5 (4) | 5.6 (4) | 0.496 |
Q = question, higher scores signify more distress,
*
denotes statistical significance