Ethics Communication in Groups Among Healthcare Professionals (The Ethics-com Study).

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Moral distress has been described as a condition with frustration, guilt, anger and as one reason for health care professionals to leave the profession. Ethics communication in groups has been showed to work as support for health care professionals in ethically difficult situations and further work as a tool to improve the ethical climate and prevent moral distress. Our research group has developed the one to five-step method for interprofessional ethical communication in groups. The overall aim of this project: is to implement and evaluate a method for organized interprofessional communication about ethical issues in healthcare.

Detailed Description
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Ethically difficult situations are a part of the everyday clinical practice for health care professionals and concerns difficult judgements, prioritization and crucial decisions. Being unable or prevented to act according to one's moral conviction for what is good and right care may increase the risk for health care professionals to experience moral distress. Moral distress has been described as a condition with frustration, guilt, anger and as one reason for health care professionals to leave the profession. Ethics communication in groups has been showed to work as support for health care professionals in ethically difficult situations and further work as a tool to improve the ethical climate and prevent moral distress. Our research group has developed the one to five-step method for interprofessional ethical communication in groups. The method is a stepwise support for facilitating ethics communication in clinical practice when the situations occurs. The overall aim of this project: is to implement and evaluate a method for organized interprofessional communication about ethical issues in healthcare. Significance: The study can generate knowledge about ethics communication in groups in line with the  one to five step method, reduce moral distress, create improved ethical climate for healthcare professionals and in turn open up prerequisites for good care.

Official Title
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Ethics Communication in Groups Among Healthcare Professionals (The Ethics-com Study).

Conditions
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Ethics Support

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: ethics communication in group, in line with the one to five-step method


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: healthcare professionals working at included wards Exclusion Criteria: -
Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Interventional Model Description: The interventiongroup is offered organized interprofessional sessions, once a month, for six months at their workplace. In the the controlgroup, organized interprofessional sessions are not planned at the wards.
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: ethics communication in group, in line with the one to five-step method<br>Healthcare professionals working as ethical representatives at the current ward (n=5) have recently gone through a basic ethics program. They will continue by going through an education program for facilitating ethics communication in group, in line with the one to five-step method The education program has a theoretical and practical approach, which includes the theoretical base of the ethical communication in groups and practicing the one to five method Thereafter, each ethical representative will facilitate interprofessional sessions at a clinical ward, once a month, for six months at their workplace. Gathering meetings for feedback will be offered for the ethical representatives once a month. | Other: ethics communication in group, in line with the one to five-step method<br>* Healthcare professionals working as ethical representatives at the current ward (n=5) have recently gone through a basic ethics program. They will continue by going through an education program for facilitating ethics communication in group, in line with the one to five-step method The education program has a theoretical and practical approach, which includes the theoretical base of the ethical communication in groups and practicing the one to five method Thereafter, each ethical representative will facilitate interprofessional sessions at a clinical ward, once a month, for six months at their workplace. Gathering meetings for feedback will be offered for the ethical representatives once a month.<br>|
| No Intervention: No organized ethics communication in group<br>Healthcare professionals working as ethical representatives at the current ward (n=5) have recently gone through a basic ethics program. They have not being educated in the one to five-step method and organized interprofessional sessions are not planned at the wards. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| moral distress meausered by using the Meausure of Moral Distress for Health care Professionals (MMD-HP) and the Moral Distress Thermometer | primary outcome | Change from Baseline moral distress at 6 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ethical climate meausered by the Swedish ethical climate questionnaire (SwECQ) | secondary outcome | Change from Baseline ethical climate at 6 months | 
| experiences | interviews of the interventiongroup | at 6 month | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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ethics support, ethical rounds, healthcare personnel