Patient Safety Culture, Moral Distress, and Intent to Leave Among Health Care Professionals: A Cross-Sectional Study

Patient safety is an ethical priority for clinicians. Situations may arise in practice that negatively impact patient safety and contribute to moral distress.

To explore the relationship between moral distress, perceived patient safety culture, and intent to leave among health care professionals (HPs).

The study used a cross-sectional design with convenience sampling. Measures included the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture® (SOPS®) Hospital Survey 2.0 and Measure of Moral Distress for Health Care Professionals (MMD-HP).

Ninety-eight HPs responded. The mean moral distress score was 130.58 (SD = 92.7), with those currently intending to leave having a higher mean moral distress score of 214.32 (SD = 73.87). Perceived patient safety culture was low. The SOPS composite score was related to intent to leave, both directly and indirectly through lowering MMD-HP score (P < .05).

HPs with negative patient safety culture perceptions may experience higher moral distress and increased intent to leave.