Mani Indu
Instinct Science, 54 East Oakland Avenue, Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901, USA.
Can Vet J. 2025 Feb;66(2):196-205.
Veterinarians have higher incidences of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts than the general population. In a survey, 1/6 veterinarians had contemplated suicide, with psychological distress a key predictor of suicidal ideation. Availability of lethal means, habituation to death, student loan debt, and other causes may contribute. Several studies have considered the individual agency of veterinarians, well-being initiatives, and selection biases in veterinary school admission. However, there is growing consideration of the moral distress, moral injury, and moral residue that afflict and destabilize veterinarians and may promote suicidal ideation and suicide. Moral distress, a historically elusive concept in veterinary medicine, is undergoing rapid delineation and analysis. This article discusses moral distress in human and veterinary healthcare professionals and how it is measured. Identification of emerging moral stressors may result in designation of broad veterinary moral distress categories and measurable moral distress scales, with an aim to predict and ameliorate moral distress. Finally, 2 tools are proposed to identify and address deleterious effects of moral distress in veterinarians.
兽医出现自杀念头和自杀未遂的发生率高于普通人群。在一项调查中，六分之一的兽医曾考虑过自杀，心理困扰是自杀念头的关键预测因素。致命手段的可得性、对死亡的习惯化、学生贷款债务及其他原因可能都有影响。几项研究探讨了兽医的个体能动性、福利倡议以及兽医学校招生中的选择偏差。然而，越来越多的人开始关注困扰兽医并使其心理失衡、可能促使其产生自杀念头和自杀行为的道德困扰、道德伤害和道德残留。道德困扰这一在兽医学中历来难以捉摸的概念，正经历快速的界定和分析。本文讨论了人类和兽医医疗保健专业人员中的道德困扰及其测量方法。识别新出现的道德压力源可能会产生广泛的兽医道德困扰类别和可测量的道德困扰量表，旨在预测和缓解道德困扰。最后，提出了两种工具来识别和解决兽医道德困扰的有害影响。
