The moral deliberation pathway in veterinary practice: a qualitative study.
Vet Rec
; 193(8): e3173, 2023 Oct 21.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37455249
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Veterinarians may face various ethical decisions and potential moral conflicts in clinical practice. The ethical decision-making process often leads to a satisfying resolution. However, when such a process is accompanied by a perceived inability to act according to a person's values, it can lead to psychological distress that characterises moral distress. Theoretical models in professions such as nursing attempt to explain the evolution of moral conflict into moral distress. In veterinary professionals, a model has been proposed to explain this pathway (the moral deliberation pathway). However, empirical data are still lacking on whether veterinary clinicians experience a moral deliberation pathway as hypothesised.METHODS:
Using thematic analysis, this qualitative study investigates veterinary clinicians' experiences with moral distress and aims to explain the moral deliberation pathway in these veterinarians.RESULTS:
The results suggest that veterinarians' experiences with moral distress follow a deliberation process that can be explained by the proposed moral deliberation pathway. Experiencing a moral conflict leads to moral stress, then either to moral distress or resolution into moral comfort.LIMITATIONS:
Self-selection of participants and possible recollection bias may have biased the findings.CONCLUSIONS:
The empirical data provided by this study can inform future research and intervention strategies to identify, measure and manage moral distress in the veterinary context.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Médicos Veterinários
/
Angústia Psicológica
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
Limite:
Animals
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article