Abstract
This poster will explore the relationship between OTs’ and PTs’ perceptions of moral injury and burnout in practice. Proposed prevention for addressing moral injury and burnout will be discussed to advance the profession.
Primary Author and Speaker: Elizabeth Seifert
Contributing Authors: Zoie Breckheimer, Hannah Brown, Nyawal Deng, Hayley Schaefbauer, Janeene Sibla
Healthcare professionals (HPs) are exposed to work stress that may lead to harmful physical and emotional effects due to the job requirements not matching the resources needed (Dean et al., 2019). Mantri et al. (2020) investigated the high correlation between moral injury and burnout in other HPs, suggesting overlapping constructs. However, the prevalence of moral injury and burnout among occupational therapists (OTs) and physical therapists (PTs) is not yet well established. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between perceived moral injury and burnout among OTs and PTs working full-time in the United States. In addition, this study explored whether there is a difference in perceived moral injury and burnout among novice OTs and PTs compared to those with experience. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was utilized. Participants (51 OTs and 16 PTs) completed the Moral Injury Symptom Scale for Health Care Professionals (MISS-HP), the Burnout Assessment Tool-12 (BAT-12), and demographic questions through an online survey, which was distributed over social media and to national and state OT and PT associations, using a snowball sampling method. Statistical significance between variables was tested using a Pearson correlation coefficient. The results of this study revealed a statistically significant, positive correlation between moral injury and burnout among occupational and physical therapists, r(65) = 0.242, p = 0.048. This study did not find any statistical significance between the correlation in the number of years of practice experience in relation to moral injury and burnout. The results of this study may be beneficial to those who educate or supervise OTs and PTs, by providing support for instruction and prevention related to moral injury and burnout. Further instructional awareness about the concepts of moral injury and burnout in combination with prevention strategies may reduce therapist job turnover and dissatisfaction.
Dean, W., Talbot, S., & Dean, A. (2019). Reframing clinician distress: Moral injury not burnout. Federal Practitioner: For the Health Care Professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS, 36(9), 400–402.
Mantri, S., Lawson, J. M., Wang, Z., & Koenig, H. G. (2020). Prevalence and predictors of moral injury symptoms in health care professionals. Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 209(3), 174–180. https://doi.org/10.1097/nmd.0000000000001277