Moral Distress in End-of-Life Care

Whilst debate continues regarding how to define moral distress (MD), one constant has been the belief that healthcare professionals often experience MD during end-of-life (EoL) care. In this chapter, we will discuss the concept of MD in the context of EoL care, drawing on a recent case that has attracted global attention and empirical data drawn from Morley’s doctoral studies exploring MD in nursing. We argue that the empirical data supports a broader understanding of MD and that the occurrence of MD during EoL care can highlight other morally complex issues that warrant further exploration.