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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Moral distress among infection prevention and control professionals: A scoping review
Infection, Disease & Health, Vol.30(2), pp.152-161
2025
Appears in UniSC Supported Open Access Outputs
Abstract
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the vital role of Infection Prevention and Control Professionals (IPCPs) in safeguarding public health. Amid rapidly evolving guidelines, critical personal protective equipment shortages, and surging workloads, IPCPs encountered unprecedented moral and ethical dilemmas. However, their experiences, ethical challenges, and the resulting moral distress remain understudied.
Methods
A scoping review following Arksey and O’Malley’s methodology was conducted to examine current research on ethical challenges and moral distress among IPCPs. Searches in CINAHL, MEDLINE via OVID, Emcare, Scopus, and Korea Citation Index yielded two extracted articles.
Results
Common themes included high workload, increased recognition, pressure to deliver accurate and timely information, need for peer support, and evidence-based practice. Differences in nationality, role discretion, and administrative systems led to varied experiences. District Medical Officers in Norway experienced more decision-making responsibilities and resulting ethical dilemmas in the context of broader communities and municipalities. The experiences of IPCPs were confined to their respective healthcare facilities.
Conclusion
There is a dearth of available research reporting the moral distress experienced by IPCPs whilst there is a plethora for those seen as “frontline” workers. Given the integral decision-making and implementation roles of these health professionals, and the burdens of ethical dilemmas they experienced in pandemic preparedness and response, further research is imperative to inform strategies to build moral resilience in the future.
Details
- Title
- Moral distress among infection prevention and control professionals: A scoping review
- Authors
- Matt Mason (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - NursingByeonghun Im (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - NursingJocelyne Basseal (Author) - The University of SydneyPeta-Anne Zimmerman (Author) - Griffith University
- Publication details
- Infection, Disease & Health, Vol.30(2), pp.152-161
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.idh.2024.10.002
- ISSN
- 2468-0869; 2468-0451
- Copyright note
- (c) 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Grant note
- Scholarship support was provided by the University of the Sunshine Coast for the second author.
- Organisation Unit
- Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; School of Health; School of Health - Nursing
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991080998902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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