Other Titles
Rising Star Poster/Presentation - Rapid Presentation Round
Abstract
Abstract Text: Moral injury is a chronic emotional and psychological syndrome from actions or experiences that transgress deeply held moral beliefs (Rosen et al., 2022). Potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) are abundant in the helping professions (e.g., teaching, healthcare, and social work) and include dilemmas such as difficult decisions to ration or withdraw medical care and harmful clinical and administrative practices.
Symptoms of moral injury include guilt, shame, anger, disgust, and moderate to severe social and occupational impairment (Rosen et al., 2022). This syndrome imparts a high risk for depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. Moral injury erodes care and services and contributes to extraordinary turnover and attrition in the helping professions, with profound personal and socioeconomic consequences.
Contemporary healthcare workers and post-9/11 military veterans report similar rates of PMIEs (Nieuwsma et al., 2022; Sugrue, 2019).
Following adverse events, debriefings at the University of Utah Health Resiliency Center often relate to moral injury. In 2023, 15% of 291 referrals for services endorsed moral injury. One associate director believes this number is artificially low simply because many people do not know what it is. Our October 2024 focus groups corroborated this conclusion.
This translational research project aimed to address this knowledge gap. In the fall of 2024, we piloted a four-week, in-person psychoeducation group about occupational moral injury. In the spring of 2025, we created education and outreach about this syndrome for a wider audience. The Utah Moral Injury Project is supported by a Utah Area Health Education Center (AHEC) research grant. It reflects successful digital programming in New York State to encourage help-seeking in youth with psychiatric concerns (Birnbaum et al., 2022). The project website is freely accessible in English and Spanish at moralinjury.utahahec.org. A local advertising campaign in May 2025, including an electronic billboard and print, digital, and radio advertising, will raise awareness about this new resource. A widespread understanding of moral injury is essential to mitigating this syndrome's personal and socioeconomic burdens and addressing the contextual factors perpetuating PMIEs in the helping professions.
Notes
Reference list included in attached slide deck.
Sigma Membership
Gamma Rho
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Interprofessional Evidence-Based Solutions, Moral Injury, Potentially Morally Injurious Events, Psychoeducation
Recommended Citation
Schwanke, Garrett; Greene, Liz; and Brown, Natalie, "Moral Injury in Helping Professions Psychoeducation Group, Website, & Outreach Campaign" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 236.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/236
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-12-10
Funder(s)
Utah Area Health Education Center
Moral Injury in Helping Professions Psychoeducation Group, Website, & Outreach Campaign
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Abstract Text: Moral injury is a chronic emotional and psychological syndrome from actions or experiences that transgress deeply held moral beliefs (Rosen et al., 2022). Potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) are abundant in the helping professions (e.g., teaching, healthcare, and social work) and include dilemmas such as difficult decisions to ration or withdraw medical care and harmful clinical and administrative practices.
Symptoms of moral injury include guilt, shame, anger, disgust, and moderate to severe social and occupational impairment (Rosen et al., 2022). This syndrome imparts a high risk for depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. Moral injury erodes care and services and contributes to extraordinary turnover and attrition in the helping professions, with profound personal and socioeconomic consequences.
Contemporary healthcare workers and post-9/11 military veterans report similar rates of PMIEs (Nieuwsma et al., 2022; Sugrue, 2019).
Following adverse events, debriefings at the University of Utah Health Resiliency Center often relate to moral injury. In 2023, 15% of 291 referrals for services endorsed moral injury. One associate director believes this number is artificially low simply because many people do not know what it is. Our October 2024 focus groups corroborated this conclusion.
This translational research project aimed to address this knowledge gap. In the fall of 2024, we piloted a four-week, in-person psychoeducation group about occupational moral injury. In the spring of 2025, we created education and outreach about this syndrome for a wider audience. The Utah Moral Injury Project is supported by a Utah Area Health Education Center (AHEC) research grant. It reflects successful digital programming in New York State to encourage help-seeking in youth with psychiatric concerns (Birnbaum et al., 2022). The project website is freely accessible in English and Spanish at moralinjury.utahahec.org. A local advertising campaign in May 2025, including an electronic billboard and print, digital, and radio advertising, will raise awareness about this new resource. A widespread understanding of moral injury is essential to mitigating this syndrome's personal and socioeconomic burdens and addressing the contextual factors perpetuating PMIEs in the helping professions.
Description
To address a moral injury knowledge gap among helping professionals in Utah, we piloted a psychoeducation group before creating an education and outreach campaign. The Utah Moral Injury Project is a bilingual, informational website published in 2025. A local advertising campaign will raise awareness about this resource. A widespread understanding of moral injury is essential to mitigating moral injury and addressing contextual factors perpetuating this problem in the helping professions.