Social Workers' Experience of Moral Distress
Abstract
According to Jameton (1985), “moral distress arises when one knows the right thing to do, but institutional constraints make it nearly impossible to pursue the right course of action” (as cited in Pendry, 2007, p.1). The issue of nurses and moral distress has been studied extensively; however, little attention has been paid to social workers’ experience of moral distress. The main objectives of this qualitative descriptive research were to explore whether ten health care social workers experienced moral distress and, if so, what were the causes and effects of such moral distress. The supports they use to deal with such distress were also explored. The participants voiced that they experience moral distress from a variety of sources and that the effects of such distress can result in exhaustion, apathy towards patients, and social workers leaving their positions. The results of this research are discussed and suggestions for further research and practice are presented.
Description
Keywords
Social Work, Biophysics--Medical
Citation
Jaskela, S. (2016). Social Workers' Experience of Moral Distress (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27819