Abstract
The purpose of this research is to identify a path model to explain burnout in community mental health professionals based on the compassion satisfaction–compassion fatigue (CS-CF) model. A total of 125 mental health professionals, including nurses, social professionals, and psychologists working in mental health welfare centers in various regions across South Korea were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. A path analysis was conducted using SPSS 24.0 and AMOS 24.0. The results showed that compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue are significant predictors of burnout (β = −0.20, p = 0.011; β = 0.40, p < 0.001, respectively). The indirect pathways associated with burnout included occupational stress (β = 0.21, p = 0.021) and experience with aggressive behavior in the workplace (β = 0.33, p = 0.004) through maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation and compassion satisfaction. The total effect of the variables on burnout via compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction explained 62.5% of burnout among mental health professionals. These findings indicate that providing nursing interventions might reduce compassion fatigue and increase compassion satisfaction to reduce burnout. Furthermore, intervention programs that help to reduce the use of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies are necessary to effectively reduce burnout in mental health professionals.
Highlights
The enactment of the revised Mental Health Welfare Act has highlighted the importance of mental health promotion services for psychiatric patients in South Korea
This study demonstrated that occupational stress, which is considered an aspect of the working environment, had no direct effect on burnout, compassion satisfaction, or compassion fatigue; it had an indirect effect on both compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue through maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies
This study attempted to test a path model based on the compassion satisfaction–compassion fatigue (CS-CF) model to understand burnout among community mental health professionals and provide a basis for identifying potential mediating variables that could reduce it
Summary
The enactment of the revised Mental Health Welfare Act has highlighted the importance of mental health promotion services for psychiatric patients in South Korea. This act has contributed to increased awareness of mental illness and recognition of the importance to prevent, treat, and manage mental illness in addition to hospitals [1]. Burnout is defined as physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that occurs following repeated and long-term exposure to stress in the workplace [6]. Such burnout is commonly reported by professionals working in mental health facilities [5]
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