Moral distress among nurses: an umbrella review of its prevalence, severity, causes, and consequences
Mansour Arad, Masoud Amini, Zakariya Fattahi, Jamal Seidi, Loghman Khaninezhad · 2026
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Description
Mansour Arad leads a five-author team presenting a 2026 umbrella review of moral distress among nurses, a synthesis that gathers earlier systematic reviews rather than primary studies. Moral distress arises when a nurse judges an action ethically right yet cannot take it because of outside constraints. The team searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar up to 10 March 2025, following JBI umbrella review methodology and PRISMA 2020 reporting. Quality was checked with the JBI critical appraisal checklist.
Of 435 records found, 19 systematic reviews published between 2009 and 2025 qualified. Reported distress levels varied by setting and measuring instrument, but intensive care, coronary care, and oncology units consistently scored highest. Contributing factors included younger age, female gender, poor teamwork, scarce resources, and care perceived as futile. Consequences ranged from burnout and depression to medication errors and plans to leave nursing.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Mansour Arad, Masoud Amini, Zakariya Fattahi, Jamal Seidi, Loghman Khaninezhad |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 77891 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |