Ethics Communication in Groups Among Healthcare Professionals (The Ethics-com Study). (Ethics-com)

Moral distress has been described as a condition with frustration, guilt, anger and as one reason for health care professionals to leave the profession. Ethics communication in groups has been showed to work as support for health care professionals in ethically difficult situations and further work as a tool to improve the ethical climate and prevent moral distress. Our research group has developed the "one to five-step method" for interprofessional ethical communication in groups. The overall aim of this project: is to implement and evaluate a method for organized interprofessional communication about ethical issues in healthcare.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Ethics Support
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: ethics communication in group, in line with "the one to five-step method"

Detailed Description

Ethically difficult situations are a part of the everyday clinical practice for health care professionals and concerns difficult judgements, prioritization and crucial decisions. Being unable or prevented to act according to one's moral conviction for what is good and right care may increase the risk for health care professionals to experience moral distress. Moral distress has been described as a condition with frustration, guilt, anger and as one reason for health care professionals to leave the profession. Ethics communication in groups has been showed to work as support for health care professionals in ethically difficult situations and further work as a tool to improve the ethical climate and prevent moral distress. Our research group has developed the "one to five-step method" for interprofessional ethical communication in groups. The method is a stepwise support for facilitating ethics communication in clinical practice when the situations occurs. The overall aim of this project: is to implement and evaluate a method for organized interprofessional communication about ethical issues in healthcare.

Significance: The study can generate knowledge about ethics communication in groups in line with the " one to five step method", reduce moral distress, create improved ethical climate for healthcare professionals and in turn open up prerequisites for good care.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 100
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Margareta Brännström; Phone Number: 0761111286; Email: margareta.brannstrom@umu.se

Study Locations

• Sweden
  • Umeå Universitet
    • Skellefteå, Umeå Universitet, Sweden, 93135
      • Recruiting
      • Margareta Brännström
      • Contact: Margareta Brännström, Professor; Phone Number: 0761111286; Email: margareta.brannstrom@umu.se
      • Sub-Investigator: Catharina Fischer Grönlund, PhD
    • Umeå, Umeå Universitet, Sweden, 93187
      • Recruiting
      • Umea University
      • Contact: Margareta Brännström, PhD; Phone Number: 0761111286; Email: margareta.brannstrom@umu.se
      • Contact: Catarina Fischer Grönlund, PhD; Email: catarina.fischer.gronlund@umu.se
      • Principal Investigator: Margareta Brännström, PHD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• healthcare professionals working at included wards

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: ethics communication in group, in line with "the one to five-step method"; Healthcare professionals working as "ethical representatives" at the current ward (n=5) have recently gone through a basic ethics program. They will continue by going through an education program for facilitating ethics communication in group, in line with "the one to five-step method"; The education program has a theoretical and practical approach, which includes the theoretical base of the ethical communication in groups and practicing "the one to five method"; Thereafter, each "ethical representative" will facilitate interprofessional sessions at a clinical ward, once a month, for six months at their workplace. Gathering meetings for feedback will be offered for the "ethical representatives" once a month.	Other: ethics communication in group, in line with "the one to five-step method"; Healthcare professionals working as "ethical representatives" at the current ward (n=5) have recently gone through a basic ethics program. They will continue by going through an education program for facilitating ethics communication in group, in line with "the one to five-step method" The education program has a theoretical and practical approach, which includes the theoretical base of the ethical communication in groups and practicing "the one to five method" Thereafter, each "ethical representative" will facilitate interprofessional sessions at a clinical ward, once a month, for six months at their workplace. Gathering meetings for feedback will be offered for the "ethical representatives" once a month.
No Intervention: No organized ethics communication in group; Healthcare professionals working as "ethical representatives" at the current ward (n=5) have recently gone through a basic ethics program. They have not being educated in "the one to five-step method and organized interprofessional sessions are not planned at the wards.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
moral distress meausered by using the Meausure of Moral Distress for Health care Professionals (MMD-HP) and the Moral Distress Thermometer	primary outcome	Change from Baseline moral distress at 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
ethical climate meausered by the Swedish ethical climate questionnaire (SwECQ)	secondary outcome	Change from Baseline ethical climate at 6 months
experiences	interviews of the interventiongroup	at 6 month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Umeå University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Margareta Brännström, Umea university, department of nursing, Umeå, Sweden

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): May 15, 2022
• Study Completion (Anticipated): May 15, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 5, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 23, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): December 6, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 6, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 23, 2021
• Last Verified: November 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: ethics support; ethical rounds; healthcare personnel
• Other Study ID Numbers: Ethics-com001

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No