Ethics Support
Conditions
Keywords
ethics support, ethical rounds, healthcare personnel
Brief summary
Moral distress has been described as a condition with frustration, guilt, anger and as one reason for health care professionals to leave the profession. Ethics communication in groups has been showed to work as support for health care professionals in ethically difficult situations and further work as a tool to improve the ethical climate and prevent moral distress. Our research group has developed the one to five-step method for interprofessional ethical communication in groups. The overall aim of this project: is to implement and evaluate a method for organized interprofessional communication about ethical issues in healthcare.
Detailed description
Ethically difficult situations are a part of the everyday clinical practice for health care professionals and concerns difficult judgements, prioritization and crucial decisions. Being unable or prevented to act according to one's moral conviction for what is good and right care may increase the risk for health care professionals to experience moral distress. Moral distress has been described as a condition with frustration, guilt, anger and as one reason for health care professionals to leave the profession. Ethics communication in groups has been showed to work as support for health care professionals in ethically difficult situations and further work as a tool to improve the ethical climate and prevent moral distress. Our research group has developed the one to five-step method for interprofessional ethical communication in groups. The method is a stepwise support for facilitating ethics communication in clinical practice when the situations occurs. The overall aim of this project: is to implement and evaluate a method for organized interprofessional communication about ethical issues in healthcare. Significance: The study can generate knowledge about ethics communication in groups in line with the one to five step method, reduce moral distress, create improved ethical climate for healthcare professionals and in turn open up prerequisites for good care.
Interventions
OTHERethics communication in group, in line with the one to five-step method
Healthcare professionals working as ethical representatives at the current ward (n=5) have recently gone through a basic ethics program. They will continue by going through an education program for facilitating ethics communication in group, in line with the one to five-step method The education program has a theoretical and practical approach, which includes the theoretical base of the ethical communication in groups and practicing the one to five method Thereafter, each ethical representative will facilitate interprofessional sessions at a clinical ward, once a month, for six months at their workplace. Gathering meetings for feedback will be offered for the ethical representatives once a month.
Sponsors
Umeå University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
The interventiongroup is offered organized interprofessional sessions, once a month, for six months at their workplace. In the the controlgroup, organized interprofessional sessions are not planned at the wards.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* healthcare professionals working at included wards
Exclusion criteria
\-
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| moral distress meausered by using the Meausure of Moral Distress for Health care Professionals (MMD-HP) and the Moral Distress Thermometer | Change from Baseline moral distress at 6 months | primary outcome |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ethical climate meausered by the Swedish ethical climate questionnaire (SwECQ) | Change from Baseline ethical climate at 6 months | secondary outcome |
| experiences | at 6 month | interviews of the interventiongroup |
Countries
Sweden
Contacts
Primary ContactMargareta Brännström
Outcome results
None listed