2023 Volume 11 Pages 45-53
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between multidisciplinary collaboration and moral distress among medical staff (physicians, nurses, and clinical engineers) in the emergency and intensive care fields, and their attitudes toward end-of-life care. A total of 193 medical staff members in the fields of emergency and intensive care medicine at a community health care support hospital were included in the study. A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire survey was used to ascertain basic attributes, collaboration among multiple professions, moral distress, and attitudes toward end-of-life care. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted, with the independent variable being collaboration in multidisciplinary collaboration, and the dependent variables being moral distress and attitudes toward end-of-life care. The analysis showed that medical staff with high awareness of multidisciplinary collaboration had lower moral distress than those with low awareness (odds ratio=0.87, 95% confidence interval=0.74-1.00). The results suggest that sharing and discussing the treatment and care of terminally ill patients and their families with multiple professions may reduce moral distress.
