Young and older care workers hit hardest by moral distress, study finds
A Swedish study of 1,300 healthcare workers reveals that moral distress—feeling unable to act on ethical values—drives burnout and mental illness, with workers under 30 and over 60 most vulnerable. The finding suggests targeted workplace interventions and better job control could reduce turnover and improve retention in care sectors facing chronic staffing shortages.
Originaltitel: The effects of moral distress on burnout and mental well-being across healthcare and care occupations: Do age and work resources matter?
<p>This study investigated how moral distress contributed to burnout and mental well-being among 1318 healthcare and care professionals in Sweden using cross-sectional survey data and partial least squares structural equation modeling. Moral distress significantly increased both exhaustion and disengagement, which in turn negatively impacted mental well-being. Mediation analyses confirmed that burnout processes mediated the relationship between moral distress and mental well-being. Job control buffered the moral distress-exhaustion link, while collegial support had no effect. Linear moderation by age was non-significant, but curvilinear analysis suggested that moral distress affects burnout differently across ages. Age-group comparisons revealed that professionals under 30 and over 60 were most vulnerable to moral distress-related burnout. These findings highlight the need for preventive, age-sensitive strategies and workplace interventions that reduce moral distress and strengthen protective resources. The Swedish version of the Moral Distress Scale was validated across healthcare and care groups.</p>