ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2024
Family physicians' moral distress when caring for patients experiencing social inequities: a critical narrative inquiry in primary care.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Family Physicians' Views of Who They Are Accountable To and Current Quality Metrics.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Moral distress of primary health care workers during the global pandemic.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Experiences of Moral Distress in Canadian Intensive Care Unit Professionals During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Exploratory Multiple Case Study in Ontario and Alberta, Canada.Journal of intensive care medicine · 2025Article
- Physician Moral Injury During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of general internal medicine · 2025Article
- Health-Related Social Needs Discussions in Primary Care Encounters in Safety-Net Clinics: A Qualitative Analysis.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Management of complex patients in family medicine.Croatian medical journal · 2025Article
- Unpacking complexity in addressing the contribution of trauma to women's ill health: a qualitative study of perspectives from general practice.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFamily physicians (GPs) working with patients experiencing social inequities have witnessed patients' healthcare needs proliferate. Alongside increased workload demands fostered within current remuneration structures, this has generated concerning reports of family physician attrition and possible experiences of moral distress.
aimTo explore stories of moral distress shared by family physicians caring for patients experiencing health needs related to social inequities. DESIGN AND
settingA critical narrative inquiry, informed by the analytic lens of moral distress, conducted in Ontario, Canada.
methodTwenty family physicians were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling via word of mouth and email mailing lists relevant to addictions and mental health care. Physicians participated in two narrative interviews and had the opportunity to review the interview transcripts.
resultsFamily physicians' accounts of moral distress were linked to policies governing physician remuneration, scope of practice, and the availability of social welfare programmes. These structural elements left physicians unable to get patients much needed support and resources.
conclusionThis study provides evidence that physicians experience moral distress when unable to offer crucial resources to improve the health of patients with complex social needs resulting from structural features of the Canadian health and social welfare system. Further research is needed to critically interrogate how health and social welfare systems around the world can be reformed to improve the health of patients and increase family physicians' professional quality of life, potentially improving retention.
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