Organization: MedSend
Background/Context:
Recently, the Meros Center had an article published in the Christian Journal for Global Health (https://journal.cjgh.org/index.php/cjgh/article/view/839) shedding light on a pressing issue faced by healthcare workers, particularly those in cross-cultural settings: moral injury. Moral injury occurs when individuals witness or are forced to perform actions against their fundamental values and beliefs. This can lead to feelings of guilt, shame, anger, and the desire to isolate oneself from others. For instance, nurses may experience moral injury if they are understaffed and unable to provide adequate care for their patients, going against their commitment to provide compassionate care. “If I don’t work, people die” is in tension with “I am exhausted with constant work.” If moral injury isn’t addressed, it can lead to significant emotional and spiritual trauma seriously impacting the well-being and effectiveness of dedicated healthcare workers and their patients.
The study has already been used to initiate actions and support mechanisms for mission sending agencies and healthcare missionaries in their organizations. Mentorship programs, screening tools, and systematic policy changes are among the suggested strategies for changing the trajectory from moral injury to spiritual growth. Our current follow-up project involves creating a screening tool for identifying moral injury.
This project is funded by: Donors like you
Research Question:
Can an evidence-based moral injury assessment screening tool help health care missionary sending agencies to identify staff who are experiencing moral injury?
Study Aims:
- Understand and describe moral injury through a Biblical worldview.
- Use data from previous study to create a moral injury screening tool to effectively identify and protect against moral injury.
- Pilot test this tool for use by health care missionary sending agencies.
Impact:
With this screening tool, health care missionary sending agencies will be able to identify staff in the early stages of experiencing moral injury to offer support, protect against further injury, and ultimately extend the years of meaningful service in the field. Organizations can take steps to support healthcare missionaries in their relationship with Jesus and give them a healthier response to their patients needing the same connection to their loving Savior.
Open Positions: 1 Research Scholar (please note project when applying)
Timeline: May 2024 – May 2025
2 Responses
August 2024 Update: Our research team, including several volunteers, has been developing a first draft of the moral injury screening tool based on the previous research we’ve done and other published literature. We greatly appreciate your gifts to fund pilot testing of this tool to support health care missionaries and their service around the world.
November 2024 Update: We are excited to share that the first draft of the moral injury screening tool is complete. It is currently being shared with experienced medical missionaries in our networks for their feedback on readability and content. Feedback will be incorporated to create an updated version of the tool for pilot testing. Thank you for your prayers and support for this project!