ArticleBMC medical ethics2024
Measuring moral distress in health professionals using the MMD-HP-SPA scale.
Article in BMC medical ethics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Moral distress: sometimes, there is no fix.Medicine, health care, and philosophy · 2026Review
- Moral distress of primary health care workers during the global pandemic.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Hard then, harder now: internal medicine residents' moral distress pre and amidst COVID-19.BMC medical ethics · 2025Observational
- Moral distress among maternity and neonatal healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden: Results from the COPE staff longitudinal cohort study.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2025Article
- Moral distress among maternal-fetal medicine fellows: a national survey study.BMC medical ethics · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMoral distress (MD) is the psychological damage caused when people are forced to witness or carry out actions which go against their fundamental moral values. The main objective was to evaluate the prevalence and predictive factors associated with MD among health professionals during the pandemic and to determine its causes.
methodsA regional, observational and cross-sectional study in a sample of 566 professionals from the Public Health Service of Andalusia (68.7% female; 66.9% physicians) who completed the MMD-HP-SPA scale to determine the level of MD (0-432 points). Five dimensions were used: i) Health care; ii) Therapeutic obstinacy-futility, iii) Interpersonal relations of the Healthcare Team, iv) External pressure; v) Covering up of medical malpractice.
resultsThe mean level of MD was 127.3 (SD=66.7; 95% CI 121.8-132.8), being higher in female (135 vs. 110.3; p<0.01), in nursing professionals (137.8 vs. 122; p<0.01) and in the community setting (136.2 vs. 118.3; p<0.001), with these variables showing statistical significance in the multiple linear regression model (p<0.001; r
conclusionsFemale, nursing professionals, and those from the community setting presented a higher risk of MD. The healthcare model needs to implement an ethical approach to public health issues to alleviate MD among its professionals.
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