Implementation of the Dementia Isolation Toolkit in long-term care improves awareness but does not reduce moral distress amongst healthcare providers

BACKGROUND

Healthcare providers may experience moral distress when they are unable to take the ethically or morally appropriate action due to real or perceived constraints in delivering care, and this psychological stressor can negatively impact their mental health, leading to burnout and compassion fatigue. This study describes healthcare providers experiences of moral distress working in long-term care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic and measures self-reported levels of moral distress pre- and post-implementation of the Dementia Isolation Toolkit (DIT), a person-centred care intervention designed for use by healthcare providers to alleviate moral distress.

METHODS

Subjective levels of moral distress amongst providers (e.g., managerial, administrative, and front-line employees) working in three long-term care homes was measured pre- and post-implementation of the DIT using the Moral Distress in Dementia Care Survey and semi-structured interviews. Interviews explored participants' experiences of moral distress in the workplace and the perceived impact of the intervention on moral distress.

RESULTS

A total of 23 providers between the three long-term care homes participated. Following implementation of the DIT, subjective levels of moral distress measured by the survey did not change. When interviewed, participants reported frequent experiences of moral distress from implementing public health directives, staff shortages, and professional burnout that remained unchanged following implementation. However, in the post-implementation interviews, participants who used the DIT reported improved self-awareness of moral distress and reductions in the experience of moral distress. Participants related this to feeling that the quality of resident care was improved by integrating principals of person-centered care and information gathered from the DIT.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the prevalence and exacerbation of moral distress amongst providers during the pandemic and the myriad of systemic factors that contribute to experiences of moral distress in long-term care settings. We report divergent findings with no quantitative improvement in moral distress post-intervention, but evidence from interviews that the DIT may ease some sources of moral distress and improve the perceived quality of care delivered. This study demonstrates that an intervention to support person-centred isolation care in this setting had limited impact on overall moral distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barriers and facilitators to person-centred infection prevention and control: results of a survey about the Dementia Isolation Toolkit

Background

People working in long-term care homes (LTCH) face difficult decisions balancing the risk of infection spread with the hardship imposed on residents by infection control and prevention (ICP) measures. The Dementia Isolation Toolkit (DIT) was developed to address the gap in ethical guidance on how to safely and effectively isolate people living with dementia while supporting their personhood. In this observational study, we report the results of a survey of LTCH staff on barriers and facilitators regarding isolating residents, and the impact of the DIT on staff moral distress.

Methods

We completed an online cross-sectional survey. Participants (n = 207) were staff working on-site in LTCH in Ontario, Canada since March 1, 2020, with direct or indirect experience with the isolation of residents. LTCH staff were recruited through provincial LTCH organizations, social media, and the DIT website. Survey results were summarized, and three groups compared, those: (1) unfamiliar with, (2) familiar with, and (3) users of the DIT.

Results

61% of respondents identified distress of LTCH staff about the harmful effects of isolation on residents as a major barrier to effective isolation. Facilitators for isolation included delivery of 1:1 activity in the resident’s room (81%) and designating essential caregivers to provide support (67%). Almost all respondents (84%) reported an increase in moral distress. DIT users were less likely to report an impact of moral distress on job satisfaction (odds ratio (OR) 0.41, 95% CI 0.19-0.87) with 48% of users reporting the DIT was helpful in reducing their level of moral distress.

Conclusions

Isolation as an ICP measure in LTCH environments creates moral distress among staff which is a barrier to its effectiveness. ICP guidance to LTCH would be strengthened by the inclusion of a dementia-specific ethical framework that addresses how to minimize the harms of isolation on both residents and staff.