How the Consideration of Spiritual Types Could Help in Coping With Moral Distress in Intensive Care: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Moral distress is highly prevalent among health care workers in intensive care in which spirituality has been identified both as a risk factor for moral distress and as a resource to mitigate it.

Objectives: Considering these contradictory findings, this study examined why moral distress is perceived in different ways and to what extent spirituality influences the ability to cope with moral distress.

Methods: In a qualitative study in German-speaking countries, semistructured interviews were evaluated using thematic analysis and typology construction according to Stapley et al.

Results: Between May and September 2022, a sample of 13 health care professionals (nurses, physicians, physiotherapists, respiratory therapists) from Germany and Austria was interviewed. Three types of spirituality among critical care staff are identified: (1) the religious type, (2) the dignity type, and (3) the instrumental type. Depending on the type of spirituality, intensive care providers experience moral distress differently and therefore require different resources to cope with moral distress.

Discussion: Appropriate spiritual interventions are facilitated by respecting different spiritualities as potential resources for mitigating moral distress. This preliminary study permits the differentiation of types of spirituality in critical staff and of appropriate supporting interventions.