This study set out to review the current scientific literature on moral distress among healthcare professionals in long-term care environments, specifically highlighting key contributing factors and the various methods used to manage it. This scoping review was conducted according to the methodological steps outlined by Arksey and O’Malley (2005) and follows the PRISMA-ScR reporting standards. The research questions were first reframed using the PICO model (population, intervention, comparison, and outcome). The Population included all healthcare professionals involved in daily care delivery within long-term care organizations, such as care workers, nurses, and youth workers. Eight articles met the inclusion criteria for this review. Moral distress can seriously undermine the wellbeing of healthcare professionals. The primary factors contributing to moral distress were identified as insufficient resources, inadequate communication, and misalignment with colleagues. Coping strategies involved openly discussing ethical dilemmas with others, drawing on support from colleagues and supervisors, and seeking external help beyond the immediate team or organization. On a personal level, healthcare professionals relied on their individual traits and sense of professional identity, turning to techniques such as rationalizing the circumstances, creating emotional distance, or simply accepting the reality of the situation to manage their moral distress. The experience of moral distress among healthcare professionals in long-term care does not seem markedly different from that observed in other areas of healthcare. While this overlap allows for valuable cross-learning between settings, it simultaneously raises concerns about whether the definition of moral distress has become overly expansive.
