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- Title
MORAL INJURY: RTS' EXPERIENCES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
- Authors
D'Alessandro-Lowe, Andrea
- Abstract
Moral injury has been defined as a profound psychological, social and existential distress that some people experience after situations in which their moral values are violated (Litz et al., 2009). Playing a vital role in Canada's health care response to the COVID-19 pandemic, respiratory therapists may be at an elevated risk for moral injury given widespread exposure to varied potentially morally injurious events during the pandemic. For example, some health care workers have reported having to provide care that they perceived to be futile and having to enforce no visitor policies as morally injurious events (Riedel et al., 2022; Xue et al., 2022). Critically, moral injury is associated with a host of deleterious impacts to mental health and functioning, including incapacitating feelings of guilt, anger, shame and betrayal, a shattered sense of identity, a loss in belief in the world as a just place, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidality (Litz et al., 2009). Our research group has spent the last 2 years surveying and interviewing Canadian Respiratory Therapists to better understand their experiences with moral injury during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this lecture, we will define moral injury, including its shame and betrayal subtypes, discuss factors associated with moral injury, share quantitative and qualitative results of moral injury in respiratory therapists during the pandemic, and offer practical suggestions for how respiratory therapists can monitor themselves and their colleagues and seek support as needed.
- Subjects
CANADA; ETHICS; CONFERENCES &; conventions; EXPERIENCE; COVID-19 pandemic
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Respiratory Therapy, 2023, Vol 59, p130
- ISSN
1205-9838
- Publication type
Article