Professionals' perspectives as they negotiate dedication to vulnerable patients and burnout.
Background: Burnout and emotional numbing—known in Scandinavian contexts as forråelse —pose critical challenges for psychiatric healthcare professionals. These phenomena are closely linked to moral distress, ethical dilemmas, and systemic pressures that complicate daily clinical practice. Understand...
| Publicado en: | Nursing Ethics Vol. 33; no. 6; pp. 1907 - 1920 |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | research Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Sage Publications Inc.
Sep2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=196513998&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 196513998 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 09697330 31K jtl: Nursing Ethics issn: 09697330 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Sep2026 vid: 33 iid: 6 pid: 344 pub: Sage Publications Inc. place: Thousand Oaks, California artinfo: ui: 196513998 194025130 196513998 196513998 10.1177/09697330261451351 196513998 ppf: 1907 ppct: 13 formats: tig: atl: Professionals' perspectives as they negotiate dedication to vulnerable patients and burnout. aug: au: Christiansen, Regina affil: Unit of Psychiatric Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark sug: subj: Attitude of Health Personnel Evaluation Special Populations Burnout, Professional Risk Factors Affective Symptoms Risk Factors Risk Assessment Ethics, Organizational Stress, Occupational Psychiatrists Human Funding Source Denmark Male Female Ethnographic Research Semi-Structured Interview Inpatients Psychiatric Service Audiorecording Thematic Analysis Work Environment Interprofessional Relations Task Performance and Analysis Patient Participation Morals Peer Group Support, Social Male Female ab: Background: Burnout and emotional numbing—known in Scandinavian contexts as forråelse —pose critical challenges for psychiatric healthcare professionals. These phenomena are closely linked to moral distress, ethical dilemmas, and systemic pressures that complicate daily clinical practice. Understanding the interplay between organizational constraints, moral agency, and relational dynamics is essential for ethical and sustainable mental healthcare. Research aim: The study aims to examine how organizational and ethical pressures contribute to burnout and emotional numbing among psychiatric healthcare professionals, and how these professionals experience and respond to moral distress and relational challenges in daily clinical practice. Research design: A qualitative ethnographic design was employed, combining prolonged field observation with semi-structured interviews to capture nuanced experiences of staff in real-world clinical settings. Reflexivity and iterative analysis ensured rich, contextually grounded insights. Participants and research context: Eighteen psychiatric healthcare professionals were interviewed over 6 months in inpatient psychiatric units. Participants included nurses, social workers, medical doctors, and allied staff, representing a range of clinical roles. Ethical considerations: Informed consent, confidentiality, and participant well-being were prioritized. Reflexive practices were used to acknowledge researcher influence, and ethical approval was obtained from the relevant institutional review board. Results: Four interrelated themes emerged: workplace dynamics, task management, patient collaboration, and emotional numbing. Systemic pressures—including understaffing, ethical strain, and limited institutional support—were central drivers of burnout. Emotional numbing appeared as an adaptive response to sustained moral distress and relational demands. Participants reported finding meaning through relational commitment, peer support, and small therapeutic successes, despite persistent ethical and organizational challenges. Conclusions: Burnout and emotional numbing are systemically produced phenomena rather than individual failings. Addressing these issues requires structural reforms, reflective supervision, and supportive workplace cultures that integrate ethical deliberation. Recognizing moral distress and fostering relational engagement are critical to safeguarding staff well-being and promoting ethical, patient-centered psychiatric care. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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