Exploring the Concept of Moral Distress with Community-Based Researchers: An Australian Study

ABSTRACT

Community-based research (CBR) refers to an applied research methodology that is conducted in community settings in partnership between academic and nonacademic participants in research. This article reports on a series of in-depth interviews conducted with 11 Australian CBR researchers between 2008 and 2009. The interviews were designed to explore whether university-employed CBR researchers experience the particular phenomenon of “moral distress,” or feelings of helplessness to act in accordance with one's moral values due to systemic or institutional constraints. Study results found that the CBR researchers experienced unavoidable moral distress at varying levels of intensity related to blurred boundaries between settings, participants, and stakeholders. Based on the outcomes of this study, further research and enhanced professional development and training practices are recommended.

KEYWORDS:

• Community-based research
• moral distress
• qualitative
• proximity
• boundaries

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research project was funded by a Research Center for Clinical and Community Practice Innovation, Griffith University seed grant with matching funding from the Motor Accidents Insurance Commission of Queensland.

The research team would like to thank and acknowledge all CBR researchers who were interviewed for this project. The valuable input of Anne-Marie Tripp in the research process and Stephanie Prout in the editorial process is also acknowledged.

Notes

1. Note that in Australia, associate professor and professor are deemed to be the highest level of academic appointment, with lecturer being the initial level of appointment to the university for new PhD graduates.

2. This difficulty in recruiting more senior researchers may reflect the relatively small number of researchers who engage in sustained CBR throughout their career or career promotion variables associated with this style of research.