ArticlePalliative medicine2022
Moral distress amongst palliative care doctors working during the COVID-19 pandemic: A narrative-focussed interview study.
Article in Palliative medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Evolving Roles and Expectations of Inpatient Palliative Care Through COVID-19: a Systematic Review and Meta-synthesis.Journal of general internal medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Exploring perceptions of work motivation through the experiences of healthcare professionals who provided end-of-life care during the COVID-19 pandemic (PRECA-C project): a qualitative study.Human resources for health · 2025Article
- Dying in residential care homes during the early COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative interview study.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Distress among healthcare providers who provided end-of-life care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal survey study (the CO-LIVE study).BMC palliative care · 2024Article
- Stress Factors for the Paediatric and Adult Palliative Care Multidisciplinary Team and Workplace Wellbeing Solutions.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- 'In the shower crying…but we came back in the following day and did it all again'. Distress and resilience in care home staff during the COVID-19 pandemic- A qualitative interview study.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- "Backlash!"? A qualitative exploration of hospice palliative care staff's ongoing experiences of "living with covid".Palliative care and social practice · 2024Article
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for people with advanced progressive illness, their caregivers and staff involved in their care: A scoping review.Palliative medicine · 2023Article
- Hospice and Palliative Care during Disasters: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The impact of COVID-19 on palliative care social work: An online survey by a European Association of Palliative Care Task Force.Palliative medicine · 2023Article
- Article
- Ethical challenges faced by healthcare workers in pediatric oncology care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.Pediatric blood & cancer · 2023Article
- Provision of palliative and end-of-life care in UK care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods observational study with implications for policy.Frontiers in public health · 2023Observational
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPalliative care professionals have had to adapt to rapidly changing COVID-19 restrictions with personal protective equipment and physical distancing measures impacting face-to-face communication with patients and relatives.
aimTo explore the narratives of palliative care doctors working during the pandemic to understand their experiences at a personal and professional level.
designIn-depth narrative interviews were carried out via video call. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a joint paradigmatic and narrative approach to elucidate common themes and closely explore individual narratives. SETTING/
participantsEight palliative care doctors who had worked on a hospice inpatient unit in the UK before and during the pandemic were recruited from two hospices in Scotland.
resultsThree intersecting themes are described, the most significant being moral distress. Participants articulated a struggle to reconcile their moral convictions with the restrictions enforced, for example, wanting to provide support to patients through physical proximity but being unable to. To differing degrees, this resulted in internal conflict and emotional distress. Two further themes arose: the first concerned a loss of humanity in interaction and a striving to re-humanise communication through alternative means; the second being a change in staff morale as the pandemic progressed.
conclusionsRestrictions had a considerable impact on palliative care doctors' ability to communicate with and comfort patients which led to moral distress and contributed to decreasing morale. Future research could explore moral distress in palliative care settings internationally during the pandemic with a view to compare the factors affecting how moral distress was experienced.
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