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A Study of Moral Distress, Moral Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress for Nurses

Moral Distress, Moral Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Among Mayo Clinic Nurses

Status
Enrolling by invitation
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07455370
Acronym
MDMIPTS
Enrollment
21300
Registered
2026-03-06
Start date
2026-03-03
Completion date
2026-11-01
Last updated
2026-09-17

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Moral Distress, Moral Injury, Nurse Health, Nurses, Nurse Well-being, Post-Traumatic Stress, Wellbeing, Wellness, Wellness, Psychological

Keywords

Moral Injury, Moral Distress, Post-Traumatic Stress, Nurse Wellbeing, Nurse burnout

Brief summary

The goal of this descriptive study is to examine levels of moral distress (MD), moral injury (MI), & post-traumatic stress (PTS) levels among nursing staff at Mayo Clinic. The main questions this study aims to answer are: 1. Determine the levels of MD, MI, and PTS symptoms experienced by nurses who participate in the study. 2. Evaluate differences in MD, MI, and PTS symptoms by setting, specialties, and geographic locations. 3. Examine demographic and professional characteristics that are associated with high levels of MD, MI and PTS.

Interventions

OTHERSurveys

Participants will complete an electronic survey containing the Measure of Moral Distress- Healthcare Professionals (MMD-HP), Moral Injury Outcome Scale (MIOS) including functional outcome measures adapted from the Brief Inventory of Psychosocial Functioning, The PCL-5 Checklist for DSM-5 (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD) Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5)) (PCL-5), and the Well-Being Index (WBI), additionally including a demographic questionnaire with wellbeing questions.

Sponsors

Mayo Clinic
Lead SponsorOTHER
Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCaTS)
CollaboratorUNKNOWN

Study design

Observational model
CASE_ONLY
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

• Mayo Clinic Department of Nursing Staff including: * Registered nurses * Licensed practical nurses * Nursing support staff (including roles such as patient care assistants, patient care specialists, medical assistants, and nurse technicians)

Exclusion criteria

* Social workers * Chaplains * Unit coordinators * Other staff who do not support direct patient care but are within the nursing department * Other employees outside the Department of Nursing

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Measure of Moral Distress-Healthcare Professionals (MMD-HP) ScoreBaselineThe MMD-HP (Measure of Moral Distress-Healthcare Professionals) is a 27-item moral distress scale. A composite score is computed for items 1 - 25 and is obtained by multiplying the frequency scores (0 = Never to 4 = Very Frequently scale) and the distress scores (0 = None to 4 = Very Distressing scale) for each item; the products of these can range from 0 - 16. Higher scores indicate a greater deal of moral distress.
Moral Injury Outcome Scale (MIOS) scoreBaselineThe Moral Injury Outcome Scale (MIOS) is a 14-item self-reported survey divided into two subscales-shame-related and trust-violation related. Both the shame and trust-violated subscales are seven items per subscale. Respondents are asked to indicate how strongly they agree with each statement in the past month using a 5 point Likert scale where 0 = Strongly Disagree and 4 = Strongly Agree. The total score range for each subscale is 0 - 28, and the overall score range is 0 - 56. Symptom severity is categorized as follows: 14 - 28 indicates mild moral injury, 29 - 42 indicates moderate moral injury, and 35 - 56 indicates severe moral injury.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PCL-5) scoreBaselineThe PCL - 5 (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD) Checklist) is a 20-item self-reported survey that assesses the 20 DSM-5 symptoms of PTSD. Respondents are asked to indicate the frequency that each item occurs on a 5 point Likert scale where 0 = Not at All and 4 = Extremely. The total score is the sum of all 20 questions, with higher scores indicating a greater likelihood of PTSD.

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORMelissa A Wilson, PhD

Mayo Clinic

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORCindy Tofthagen, PhD

Mayo Clinic

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Sep 18, 2026