Moral distress and moral competences in midwifery: A latent variable approach

Like other health professionals, midwives need moral competences in order to cope effectively with ethical issues and to prevent moral distress and negative consequences such as fatigue or impaired quality of care. In this study, we developed and conducted a survey with 280 midwives or midwifery students assessing the burden associated with ethical issues, moral competences, and negative consequences of moral distress. Results show that ethical issues associated with asymmetries of power and authority most often lead to the experience of distress. The results are critically discussed in the context of the conceptualization and operationalization of moral distress.