Swedish study tests six questions on hospital staff’s moral injury
Researchers have tested a six-question Swedish measure of moral injury: the guilt, shame and loss of trust that can follow experiences at work that clash with deeply held values.
The study drew on a digital survey of 585 hospital healthcare workers across Sweden. Published in September and highlighted in a research report on 12 November, it examined how well a US questionnaire worked in a Swedish setting.
The original ten questions were reduced to six after statistical testing. The shorter version covered two areas: guilt and shame, and trust and meaning. Two discarded questions concerned religion, illustrating why measures developed in one country may need adapting elsewhere.
People reporting more symptoms of moral injury also reported more symptoms of depression, anxiety and burnout. Those associations do not establish what caused the mental health difficulties.
The participants were a convenience sample, so the findings cannot establish how common moral injury is among all Swedish healthcare workers. The questionnaire also needs further testing in independent groups before firm conclusions about its wider use.
The work offers researchers a way to examine the moral dimension of hospital working conditions, without treating a questionnaire score as a clinical diagnosis.
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