Table 4.
Distress and moral distress during COVID-19 pandemic
| Results (N = 313) |
|
|---|---|
| Major sources of distress*, n (%) | |
| Spending less time with patients | 168 (53.7) |
| Inconsistent opinions of physicians regarding comfort care | 133 (42.5) |
| Insufficient communication with patient’s family | 74 (23.6) |
| Inconsistent opinions of nurses on comfort care | 72 (23.0) |
| Insufficient communication about goals of treatment within the team | 69 (22.0) |
| I was exposed to moral distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, n (%) | |
| Strongly agree | 75 (24.0) |
| Somewhat agree | 87 (27.8) |
| Do not know | 23 (7.3) |
| Somewhat disagree | 92 (29.4) |
| Strongly disagree | 28 (8.9) |
| Median (IQR) | 2 (2–4) |
| Level of moral distress was comparable to situation before COVID-19 pandemic, n (%)a | |
| Strongly agree | 5 (3.1) |
| Somewhat agree | 24 (14.8) |
| Do not know | 11 (6.8) |
| Somewhat disagree | 82 (50.6) |
| Strongly disagree | 39 (24.1) |
| Major sources of moral distress*, n (%)a | |
| Work intensity—psychological exhaustion | 27 (16.7) |
| Work intensity—physical exhaustion | 23 (14.2) |
| Cooperation with not qualified colleagues | 20 (12.3) |
| Changes in the standards of care | 19 (11.7) |
| Severity of condition/prognosis of admitted patients | 16 (9.9) |
| Personal interactions at the ICU | 16 (9.9) |
| Prioritisation of care due to resource scarcity situation | 16 (9.9) |
| Responsibility for insufficiently qualified colleagues | 14 (8.6) |
| Work intensity—risk of infection | 10 (6.2) |
| Organisational/institutional problems | 6 (3.7) |
| Administration of experimental treatments | 5 (3.1) |
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease, IQR interquartile range, ICU intensive care unit
aPercentage based on number of HCPs who answered ‘Strongly agree’ or ‘Somewhat agree’ on the question ‘I was exposed to moral distress during the Covid-19 pandemic’
*More than one answer possible