Moral Distress Among Family Caregivers: A Concept Analysis.
Tharaa Ananzeh, Caroline F Morrison, Elaine L Miller and 2 others
PMID 41482977WHAT IT FOUND
Family caregivers of people with dementia or cancer described moral distress as internal conflict, guilt or regret, and powerlessness.
This concept analysis names those features, but it does not test whether caregiver support reduces them.
Key findings
01The defining attributes were internal conflict, self-directed negative emotions such as guilt, shame, regret or self-blame, and feelings of powerlessness and helplessness.
02Antecedents identified were caregiver burden, role conflict, complex decision-making, ethical dilemma, internal constraints and external constraints.
03Consequences identified were long-term physical and psychological health effects, social withdrawal and isolation, burnout and moral residue.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The included evidence was mostly qualitative or theoretical, so the output is a concept definition rather than proof of an outcome or effect. Only some included articles explicitly discussed moral distress; others discussed ethical dilemmas or decision-making, which may not fully capture the concept. The explicit moral distress evidence did not include stroke caregivers, although stroke caregiving is described as burdensome. No validated quantitative instrument for moral distress in family caregivers was available, so the concept cannot yet be measured consistently.
Declared interests
The authors reported no funding and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that screening family caregivers for moral distress improves care. It is a concept analysis of qualitative and theoretical papers, not a tested intervention.