Moral Distress in the Time of COVID-19: Occupational Therapists’ Perspectives

Abstract

The conditions of COVID-19 have caused moral distress in healthcare workers. Occupational therapists have had to adapt to these unknown times to best treat their clients. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of moral distress in occupational therapists during the time of COVID-19. Eighteen occupational therapists were included who worked in a variety of settings. Investigators conducted semi-structured interviews to explore experience with moral distress (distress felt when confronting an ethical problem) during the time of COVID-19. The data were analyzed using a hermeneutical phenomenological approach to generate themes regarding the experience of moral distress. Investigators identified themes of occupational therapists’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. These themes included: Experiences of moral distress, capturing participants’ encounters with morally distressing issues; effects of moral distress, exploring the impact of COVID-19 experiences on participants’ well-being and quality of life; and managing moral distress, addressing ways in which occupational therapists tried to mitigate moral distress throughout the pandemic. This study brings awareness to the experience of occupational therapists during the pandemic and explores implications for preparing occupational therapists for future occurrences of moral distress.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• ethics
• mental health
• moral distress

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this paper.

Data availability statement

Data are available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1I2dZJ-Fzq-ORMc0oxZYkjv-o9eVQPFMi?usp=sharing

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Brenda S. Howard

Dr. Brenda Howard is an Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy at the University of Indianapolis and the current Chairperson of the American Occupational Therapy Association Ethics Commission (2020–2023).

Breanna Beckmann

Breanna Beckmann, Drew Flynn, Jon Haller, Macy Pohl, Kelsey Smith, and Scott Webb are students in the entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program at the University of Indianapolis.