Moral distress is defined as knowing the right thing to do when policy constraints do not allow for appropriate choices. The purpose of the current study was to explore the existence of moral distress in oncology nurses with a cross-sectional survey completed by nurses working on inpatient units at a midwestern cancer hospital. Investigators distributed the Moral Distress Scale-Revised to all direct care staff nurses. The main research variables were moral distress, level of education, age, and type of unit. Most of the 73 nurses had low to moderate scores, and two had high scores. No significant correlations were observed among age or years of experience. Type of unit and level of moral distress were correlated, and an inverse relationship between level of education and moral distress was found. Moral distress exists in nurses who work on oncology units irrespective of experience in oncology or the specific unit. Nurses must be aware of the existence of moral distress and finds ways to reduce potential emotional problems.

Three variables were found useful in predicting moral distress: the type of unit and responses to two qualitative questions related to quitting their job. Identification of these variables allows organizations to focus their interventions.

For many patients, a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) can be challenging to physical and emotional health. Supportive care needs can be overwhelming for many patients and families. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of quality of life (QOL), spiritual well-being, and supportive care resources post-HSCT. This descriptive, repeated-measures study included people over the age of 18 years undergoing HSCT for any cancer diagnosis. The Functional Assessment in Cancer Therapy--Bone Marrow Transplant scale, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy--Spiritual--12 scale, and a resource questionnaire were administered prior to HSCT and following HSCT at 30, 60, 90, and 180 days. Three groups of HSCT patients were examined: allogeneic, autologous, and overall. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and correlations. In the sample (n = 159), the autologous HSCT group reported the highest QOL scores. Spirituality scores increased for the autologous HSCT group at 90 days, but decreased for the overall and allogeneic groups. The type of supportive care resources most used were information from the physician and nurse, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Support as the most used form of support group, and Faith, Prayer and Spiritual Healing. QOL and spiritual well-being scores correlated best at 180 days (6 months) for autologous and allogeneic patients.