Moral distress is defined as the inability to act according to one’s own core values. During the COVID-19 pandemic, moral distress in medical personnel has gained attention, related to the impact of pandemic-associated factors, such as the uncertainty of treatment options for the virus and the accelerated pace of deaths. Measures to provide aid and mitigate the long-term pandemic effect on providers are starting to be designed. Yet, little has been said about the moral distress experienced by patients and the relational and additive effect on provider moral distress. Pandemic-associated factors affecting moral distress in patients include the constraining effects of isolation on spiritual and religious traditions as well as the intentional separation of patients from their families. This paper will explore the idea that patients are suffering their own moral distress and further how this impacts the intensity of moral distress experienced by the providers—nurses and physicians. The paucity of research in this area with the implications on patient’s distress, decision making, and distress experienced by providers compels further investigation and analysis.

道德困扰被定义为无法按照自己的核心价值观行事。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，医务人员的道德困扰受到关注，这与大流行相关因素的影响有关，例如病毒治疗方案的不确定性和死亡速度加快。开始设计提供援助和减轻大流行对提供者的长期影响的措施。然而，关于患者所经历的道德困扰以及对提供者道德困扰的相关和累加效应却鲜有提及。影响患者道德困扰的大流行相关因素包括隔离对精神和宗教传统的限制作用以及患者与家人的故意分离。本文将探讨患者正在遭受自己的道德困扰的想法，以及这将如何影响提供者（护士和医生）所经历的道德困扰的强度。该领域缺乏对患者痛苦、决策制定和提供者经历的痛苦的影响的研究，迫使进一步的调查和分析。