Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Moral Distress Among Nurses and Physicians in Spanish ICUs

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on moral distress (MD) among healthcare professionals (HCPs) (physicians and nurses) in Spanish ICUs. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, prospective study. SETTING: ICUs in Spain. PARTICIPANTS: HCPs currently working in Spanish ICUs. INTERVENTIONS: Data were collected via electronic survey with the use of a 50-item questionnaire in two different periods: prepandemic (October-December 2019) and during the second wave of COVID-19 (September-November 2020). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: During the prepandemic and pandemic periods, 1,065 (57.1% nurses) and 1,115 (58.5% nurses) HCPs completed the questionnaire, respectively. Higher MD levels were reported during COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among ICU nurses, when compared with the prepandemic period. Before COVID-19, physicians reported significantly higher levels of MD than ICU nurses (80.0 [interquartile range {IQR}, 40.0–135.0] vs 61.0 [IQR, 35.0–133.0]; p = 0.026). These differences disappeared during the pandemic period (81.0 [IQR, 39.0–138.5] vs 74.0 [IQR, 41.0–143.0]; p = 0.837). During the pandemic, younger and less experienced HCPs working in hospital areas that were converted in ICU or in ICUs with multiple occupancy rooms reported higher MD levels. In addition, HCPs who were off work for psychologic burden reported higher MD levels (108.0 [IQR, 66.0–139.0] vs 76.0 [IQR, 40.0–141.0]; p
Source: Critical Care Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Online Clinical Investigations Source Type: research