Understanding moral distress and adaptive responses of clinicians in Advance Care Planning (ACP)
Status
Completed
Ongoing
Principal Investigator: Dr Raymond Ng Han Lip (Visiting Consultant, GERI; Senior Consultant and Chief, Palliative & Supportive Care, Woodlands Hospital (WH))
Collaborating Organisation(s): WH, Nanyang Technological University, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, National University of Singapore, National University Hospital
Gap: Since 2011, the Living Matters programme, based on the Respecting Choices framework for ACP, has been implemented nationwide. More research is needed to understand the moral distress that healthcare professionals face in implementing ACP in real-world settings as well as effective ways to address the ethical challenges that have arisen in practice.
Solution: This mixed-methods study examined the relationships among factors involved in implementing ACP, moral distress, and ethical conundrums. It involved in-depth interviews and quantitative methods to identify key issues around moral distress faced by ACP facilitators and healthcare professionals.
Impact: The findings from this study will inform the training curricula for ACP facilitators and healthcare professionals, as well as highlight potential service, knowledge and system gaps within the broader ACP service planning and operations perspective. Findings have been presented at five scientific conferences, with an upcoming presentation at the 23rd International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics in Jul 2026.
Duration: Mar 2022 to May 2025