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Moral Distress

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Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics

Abstract

As long as healthcare professionals have experienced constraints to acting ethically in everyday practice, they have experienced high levels of stress. It was not until 1984 that the term moral distress was used to describe the inability to translate moral decision-making and choice into action. While the majority of studies of moral distress are found in the nursing literature, we now know that moral distress is experienced, in varying degrees, by all healthcare professionals and with varying consequences. This entry defines moral distress, moral residue, moral courage, and moral resilience; explores the causes and consequences of moral distress; recommends tools to measure moral distress; and finally suggests strategies and resources for resolving moral distress and promoting resilience.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing and Health Studies and Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University, 3700 Reservoir RD NW, Washington, DC, 20057, USA

    Carol Taylor

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  1. Carol Taylor
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carol Taylor .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Healthcare Ethics, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Henk ten Have

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Taylor, C. (2016). Moral Distress. In: ten Have, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09483-0_297

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