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Bloom, Natalie (2025) Moral injury and burnout in police organisations. DForenPsy thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

Moral injury can be defined as the emotional and cognitive response to a transgressive act which violates an individual’s moral code and deeply held beliefs. Research in healthcare has started to consider whether there is a relationship between moral injury and burnout. Policing involves exposure to potentially traumatic and morally injurious events yet police employees remain less likely to seek help for their psychological wellbeing. International research suggests several barriers exist that deter police employees doing this. This thesis aims to investigate whether moral injury is related to burnout in policing, and to explore the barriers that stop police seeking mental health support. Study 1 investigated whether moral injury was associated with burnout in a sample of 97 police employees, or whether a relationship was better explained by other variables. Study 2 involved interviews with nine police employees and explored barriers to seeking psychological wellbeing support. A positive correlation was found between moral injury and burnout. Hierarchical regression analysis showed moral injury and organisational stressors were the only two predictor variables that had a significant association with burnout. Thematic analysis resulted in five themes being identified related to barriers to seeking help – the culture of policing, a perceived need to portray oneself as superhuman, stigma, an unsafe organisation, and the help being insufficient. The findings establish the importance of moral injury awareness and intervention within policing and provide evidence related to barriers to seeking psychological wellbeing support which can seriously impact on the ability of police employees to keep communities safe.

Item Type:	Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (DForenPsy)
Supervisors:	Chou, Shihning Kettlewell, Jade
Keywords:	moral injury; burnout; police; moral distress; help-seeking; workplace wellbeing
Subjects:	W Medicine and related subjects (NLM Classification) > WA Public health
Faculties/Schools:	UK Campuses > Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Medicine
Item ID:	80692
Depositing User:	Bloom, Natalie
Date Deposited:	10 Dec 2025 04:40
Last Modified:	10 Dec 2025 04:40
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/80692

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