Moral Injury in French Healthcare Workers
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Self-Questionnaires for Healthcare Workers.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Moral Injury. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- France
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Overview
Healthcare professionals are facing an escalating crisis, with burnout rates ranging between 40% and 60% and a growing intention to leave the profession, affecting one in five physicians and one in four nurses in the coming years. While current interventions focused on individual resilience, such as mindfulness, peer support, and workload management, have been promoted as solutions, they have failed to bring about systemic improvements. This raises the question of whether other factors, such as Moral Injury, play a key role in this crisis. Moral Injury is an emerging concept that highlights the profound misalignment between healthcare workers' professional values and the reality of their practice, often exacerbated by organizational and economic constraints. The objective of this study is to describe the manifestations of Moral Injury among healthcare professionals in France. By establishing the first large-scale assessment of Moral Injury among healthcare professionals in France, this study aims to identify key organizational and personal risk factors contributing to this phenomenon. The use of Structural Equation Modeling will help build a robust theoretical model that clarifies the underlying mechanisms of Moral Injury and its interactions with broader health issues. The findings will support the development of targeted interventions focused on systemic organizational changes to improve healthcare workers' well-being and guide public health policies.
Detailed description
Healthcare professionals are facing an escalating crisis, with burnout rates ranging between 40% and 60% and a growing intention to leave the profession, affecting one in five physicians and one in four nurses in the coming years. While current interventions focused on individual resilience, such as mindfulness, peer support, and workload management, have been promoted as solutions, they have failed to bring about systemic improvements. This raises the question of whether other factors, such as Moral Injury, play a key role in this crisis. Moral Injury is an emerging concept that highlights the profound misalignment between healthcare workers' professional values and the reality of their practice, often exacerbated by organizational and economic constraints.
The primary objective of this study is to describe the manifestations of Moral Injury among healthcare professionals in France. Secondary objectives include the psychometric validation of a French-language Moral Injury scale, the analysis of organizational and individual determinants of Moral Injury, and the structural modeling of underlying mechanisms.
This nationwide cross-sectional survey will be conducted electronically, reaching participants through healthcare institutions, professional societies, social networks, and a snowball dissemination strategy. Data collection will include standardized scales such as the Moral Injury Inventory for Healthcare Professionals, the Moral Injury Events Scale (MIES), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and the EuroQol 5-Dimensions (EQ-5D) for quality of life, as well as ad hoc questions designed to explore additional systemic and professional challenges. A rigorous psychometric validation of the Moral Injury scale will be performed, followed by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze the complex relationships between Moral Injury and other factors such as burnout, depression, and anxiety.
By establishing the first large-scale assessment of Moral Injury among healthcare professionals in France, this study aims to identify key organizational and personal risk factors contributing to this phenomenon. The use of Structural Equation Modeling will help build a robust theoretical model that clarifies the underlying mechanisms of Moral Injury and its interactions with broader health issues. The findings will support the development of targeted interventions focused on systemic organizational changes to improve healthcare workers' well-being and guide public health policies.
Interventions
- Other Self-Questionnaires for Healthcare Workers
Health workers will be invited to complete an online self-questionnaire.
Primary outcome measures
- Moral Injury Inventory for Healthcare Professionals [Time frame: One point : baseline]
Secondary outcome measures (3)
- Moral Injury Events Scale [Time frame: One point : baseline]
- Maslach Burnout Inventory [Time frame: One point : baseline]
- EuroQol 5-Dimensions (EQ-5D) [Time frame: One point : baseline]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Healthcare workers
Exclusion criteria
- Absence of consent
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- N/A
- Model
- Single group
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
Study locations
France · 1 center
- Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal Toulon-La Seyne sur Mer — Toulon
Publications
- Boyer L, Fond G, Tran B, Llorca PM, Duclos A. The hidden crisis: Moral injury among French healthcare workers. J Epidemiol Popul Health. 2024 Dec;72(6):202780. doi: 10.1016/j.jeph.2024.202780. Epub 2024 Oct 19. PMID 39427511
- Dean W, Morris D, Llorca PM, Talbot SG, Fond G, Duclos A, Boyer L. Moral Injury and the Global Health Workforce Crisis - Insights from an International Partnership. N Engl J Med. 2024 Sep 5;391(9):782-785. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2402833. Epub 2024 Aug 31. No abstract available. PMID 39216090
Identifiers
NCT: NCT06926296 · 2024-CHITS-019 · 2024-a02449-38