Women healthcare workers faced heightened moral distress during pandemic: study

New research highlights the challenges women healthcare providers (HCPs) experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic which contributed to heightened moral distress, providing insights into ongoing professional burnout. Moral distress is defined as the experience of knowing the ethically right action to take but being systemically constrained from taking that action. Researchers found that women healthcare providers, who comprise over 80 per cent of workers in this field, faced -double distress- in the workplace and at home. Simon Fraser University researcher Julia Smith, a health sciences assistant professor, led the study, recently published in the journal Nursing Ethics. -There's no question our healthcare system continues to experience strain as women healthcare providers are leaving the profession due to overwork and burnout,- says Smith, whose study tracked the experiences of 88 B.C. women health care workers. -Structural change is needed to address the underlying constraints, many of which pre-date COVID-19 and are notably gendered. Smith says improving working conditions and investing in the -care economy- will not only strengthen COVID-19 recovery efforts but will also better prepare health systems for future pandemics.