Coping Strategy: A Study on Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) Among Special Education Teachers

Objective: To systematically evaluate the correlation between professional quality of life and social support of Chinese nurses based on Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients. Methods: In databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Medline, CBM, CNKI、Wanfang, and other databases were searched by computer for the literatures on correlation between Chinese nurses' professional quality of life and social support from January 2005 to July 2020. The Chinese and English search terms are "nurse" "professional quality of life" "empathy satisfaction" "empathy fatigue" "professional quality of life" "ProQOL" "comparison satisfaction" "comparison fatigue" "social support" "competent social support" "SSRS" "PSSS", etc. Literatures were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. After evaluating quality and extracting data, meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software. Results: A total of 12 studies were included. The meta analysis showed that nurses' compassion satisfaction, burnout, secondary traumatic stress were related to social support, summary r were 0.35, -0.26 and -0.23 respectively. The correlation between compassion satisfaction and social support were increased with sample, the south was higher than the north, and comprehensive departments were higher than other departments (P<0.05) . The correlation between burnout and social support were increased with time and sample, and the south was higher than the north, oncology was higher than others, non-random sampling was higher than random sampling, using ProQOL and Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS) was higher than Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) and Social Support Racting Scale (SSRS) (P<0.05) . The correlation coefficient between secondary traumatic stress and social support in oncology was higher than others, random sampling was higher than non-random sampling, using ProQOL and PSSS was higher than ProQOL and SSRS (P<0.05) . Conclusion: There is a positive and weak correlation between compassion satisfaction and social support, and a negative and weak correlation between burnout and secondary traumatic stress and social support. There are differences in different time, research design, region and department.

Compassion Fatigue, Compassion Satisfaction & Burnout among Pediatric Nurses

The rapid spread of COVID-19 poses a significant threat to nurses' lives and health, resulting in varying degrees of mental distress. Nurses may experience compassion fatigue, and their professional quality of life and satisfaction may suffer as a result. Their coping mechanisms may vary as well, influencing their compassionate and safe care. The study's objectives are to explore levels of compassion satisfaction and fatigue among nurses and identify their coping strategies. Further, to investigate the relationship between coping strategies, compassion satisfaction, and compassion fatigue during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a descriptive correlational design, this study was conducted with a convenience sample of 443 nurses working in an Egyptian university hospital. Nurses completed the coping strategy indicator scale and the professional quality of life (compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue) scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and regression analysis. Nurses' professional quality of life was average in terms of compassion satisfaction (2.95 ± 0.92) and compassion fatigue (2.38 ± 0.35). Nurses have a moderate use of coping strategies (2.13 ± 0.35). Problem-solving was rated as the highest coping strategy, while avoidance was rated as the lowest. Coping strategies showed a positive correlation with compassion satisfaction (r = 0.503, p < .001) and a negative correlation with compassion fatigue (r = -0.352, p < .001). In addition, coping strategies could predict 25.4% and 12.4% of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue, respectively (p < .001). Compassion satisfaction and fatigue are key determinants of nurses' quality of work life. Coping strategies, especially problem-solving and support systems, are vital to increase compassion satisfaction and mitigate burnout and secondary stress syndrome. Nurse managers should establish supportive work environments that promote nurses' well-being. Resilience-building programs and coping strategies' training are recommended to enhance the nurses' quality of work life and positive work attitudes.

Stress Coping Strategies, Burnout, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Compassion Satisfaction Amongst Israeli Dentists: A Cross-sectional Study

This study explored the complex relationship between anxiety, depression, compassion fatigue, and satisfaction among long-term care (LTC) workers following the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the study assessed psychometric properties of the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) scale, to ensure a reliable and valid instrument for identifying compassion fatigue and satisfaction in the Serbian healthcare system. A cross-sectional study was conducted across LTC facilities in the Republic of Serbia. A ProQOL was administered to physicians, nurses, and aids, to measure compassion fatigue (including burnout and secondary traumatic stress) and compassion satisfaction. The following standardized instruments were also distributed: Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS), Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21) and 12-Item Short-Form Health 36 Survey (SF-12). A total of 300 LTC workers participated, mostly women (86.3%), with an average age of 45.4 ± 10.5 years and a median work experience of 15 years (range: 1 to 42 years). The study reported a significant presence of anxiety and depression symptoms (53.3% and 43.3%, respectively), with LTC workers experiencing moderate levels of compassion fatigue, as indicated by burnout (58.3%) and stress (57.3%) subscales, and moderate or high levels of compassion satisfaction (49.0% and 50.0%, respectively). The study demonstrated that anxiety impacts depression both directly and indirectly (p<0.05). Specifically, burnout and compassion satisfaction mediated the positive effect of anxiety on depression, indicating that increased anxiety led to higher burnout and lower compassion satisfaction, which resulted in greater depression (p<0.05). The three-factor structure of the ProQOL was validated (IFI, TLI, and CFI were above the cut-off of ≥0.95, and the RMSEA was below the suggested value of ≤ 0.06). The Cronbach α of the three subscales was above 0.8, indicating good scale reliability. This study contributes to the broader literature on LTC workers wellbeing by examining the complex interplay between professional quality of life, anxiety, and depression. The findings should guide decision-makers in developing targeted interventions and policies that promote the psychological resilience and well-being of LTC workers, thereby enhancing both individual and organizational outcomes in the healthcare sector.

Background/Objectives: Nurses and nursing technicians are essential providers of patient care but remain highly vulnerable due to the demands of their profession, which can profoundly affect their professional quality of life. Understanding the risk and protective factors underlying different aspects of professional quality of life is crucial for fostering healthcare professionals’ overall well-being and ensuring high-quality care for patients. The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between professional quality of life, work-related factors, PTSD symptomatology and individual resources, including resilience and coping strategies. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 119 nurses from various nursing departments. A questionnaire comprising sociodemographic and work-related variables and four validated instruments, Professional Quality of Life Scale-5 (ProQOL-5), PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Brief-COPE and Brief Resilience Scale, was used for data collection. Results: Findings revealed moderate to high compassion satisfaction among nurses and technicians, as well as low to moderate burnout and moderate levels of secondary traumatic stress. Compassion satisfaction was positively associated with problem-focused and emotion-focused coping, whereas higher levels of compassion fatigue (burnout and secondary traumatic stress) were associated with avoidant coping, greater PTSD symptom severity, and lower resilience. Resilience, problem-focused coping, and PTSD symptom severity were identified as significant predictors of professional quality of life. Conclusions: To support nurses’ and technicians’ well-being, healthcare organizations should encourage open conversations about the emotional demands of patient care and provide interventions that promote effective coping and address PTSD symptoms, ultimately helping to reduce compassion fatigue and enhance compassion satisfaction.

Professional Quality of Life and Intention to Stay Among Perinatal Registered Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic

BackgroundParamedics experience traumatic events and social emergencies during assignments while also being subjected to verbal and physical threats. Consequently, they are at risk for burnout and secondary traumatic stress, factors inherent to professional quality of life. Defusing and peer-support potentially decrease such symptoms; however, perceived defusing needs and use are not always balanced. Our aim was to explore Finnish paramedics’ professional quality of life, using the Professional Quality of Life Scale, with associations to EMS assignment experiences as well as formal and informal defusing need and use over a 12-month period.MethodsA quantitative study of 257 Finnish paramedics using a cross-sectional design. Study outcomes were secondary traumatic stress (STS), compassion satisfaction (CS), and burnout (BO) scores using the modified 9-item Short Professional Quality of Life scale (ProQOL). Likert-type scales were used to collect participants’ recollections of assignment experiences and defusing from a 12-month period. Associations were explored using Spearman’s correlation coefficients.ResultsShort ProQOL score medians were STS 4.00 (IQR 3), BO 6.00 (IQR 3) and CS 13.00 (IQR 3). STS and BO correlated to experiences of social emergencies and traumatic events while BO correlated to experiences of threat situations (r = 0.206, p = .001). Paramedics perceived a need for defusing in general associated with STS (r = 0.178, p < .001) and participated in informal defusing. Participation in defusing of any form did not associate with ProQOL scores.ConclusionsFinnish paramedics’ more frequent experiences of social emergencies, traumatic events, and paramedic-directed threat situations were associated with higher levels of STS and BO. STS was also associated with paramedics’ increased need for defusing and use of informal peer defusing, although neither STS, BO or CS scores associated to any defusing form. Managing paramedics STS and BO, while fostering CS, could therefore be a future research focus.

This study aims to determine the relationship of nurses' perception of spirituality and spiritual care to the dimensions of professional quality of life, namely, nurses' compassion fatigue, burnout and compassion satisfaction, and identify the influencing factors, respectively. The population consisted of 316 nurses (response rate: 91.32%) working in various clinics of a Training and Research Hospital (gynecology, pediatrics, surgery, internal medicine and emergency service) between December 2018 and May 2019. Data was collected through the Socio-Demographic Form, The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), and Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS). A meaningful relationship between SSCRS and ProQOL's "burnout" and "compassion fatigue" subscales was granted (p < 0.001). In particular, the comparison of ProQOL subscales to SSCRS's "spirituality/spiritual care" and "religiosity" subscales revealed a negative and strong relationship (p < 0.01) while SSCRS's "personalized care" subscale yielded a very strong positive relationship (p < 0.001). The nurses' professional quality of life was affected by variables such as "monthly number of shifts,""manner of work," and"average weekly working hours." It was determined that burnout was experienced at a higher level, whereas compassion fatigue at a moderate level. In terms of spirituality and spiritual care, the subscale mean scores for "spirituality/spiritual care,""personalized care," and "religiosity" were low. In light of the research findings, the charge nurses and nursing managers should oversee variables such as monthly income, monthly number of shifts, average weekly working hours at all times in the context of spiritual care and professional quality of life. Institution managers need to be competent in the prioritization of employee requests, planning the number of employees taking into account the ratio of nurse/patient/clinic capacity. Institution managers should familiarize themselves with notions such as compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction and spiritual care to plan and sustain the activities of the institution while overwatching the needs of her/his employees along the way. Nurses could also benefit from counseling services and in-service training programs contemplating sociodemographic and profession related variables that affect spiritual care and professional quality of life.

BackgroundMental health nursing is a demanding and stressful profession that impacts nurses’ professional quality of life. Psychological resilience can be a protective factor. However, the relationship has not been extensively studied. This study aims to examine the relationship between psychological resilience and professional quality of life and identify potential predictors of ProQOL subscales among mental health nurses.MethodsThe study employed a cross-sectional design to collect data from 179 mental health nurses. Data was collected using two standardized questionnaires: the Connor-Davidson resilience scale and the professional quality of life scale. Participants were recruited through convenient sampling during a 3-month period from April to June 2022, and the data were collected using an online survey tool called QuestionPro.ResultsThe study found a strong positive correlation between psychological resilience and compassion satisfaction (r = 0.632, P < 0.001). However, there was a negative significant correlation between resilience with burnout (r = -0.470, P < 0.001) and secondary traumatic stress (r = -0.210, P = 0.005). The study also found that higher resilience levels were associated with higher levels of compassion satisfaction and lower levels of secondary traumatic stress. Additionally, higher burnout scores were associated with higher levels of secondary traumatic stress. The study also identified that age and the number of children had weak associations with compassion satisfaction, while workplace was a significant predictor of burnout and secondary traumatic stress.ConclusionThe study emphasizes the importance of resilience, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress in the well-being of healthcare professionals, especially nurses. The findings suggest that assessing nurses’ resilience and professional quality of life can raise psychological resilience awareness and help managers create the necessary working conditions to improve nurses’ professional quality of life.

This study examined the relationship between empathy and compassion fatigue in 334 Australian school teachers. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between cognitive and affective empathy on compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress (STS). The latter variables were measured using the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL). Participants also completed demographic items and the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE). Multiple regression analysis revealed weak but significant associations between the study’s key variables. Cognitive empathy was positively associated with compassion satisfaction and negatively associated with burnout and STS. In contrast, affective empathy was negatively associated with compassion satisfaction and positively associated with burnout and STS. Age, teaching experience, and school location were also found to influence compassion satisfaction and burnout in teachers’ professional quality of life. This study emphasises the importance of balancing cognitive and affective empathy for teachers’ professional wellbeing. Affective empathy, while crucial for relationships, must be complemented by cognitive empathy to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue. Practical options to combat compassion fatigue in teachers are explored, highlighting the potential benefits of peer support, mindfulness-based stress reduction, reflective practice, and distributed leadership in Australian schools.

This study examined locus of control (LOC), coping, and professional quality of life in therapeutic service providers (TSPs; mental health clinicians with master's degrees or higher) to determine whether coping strategies either mediated or moderated the relationship between LOC and professional quality of life. One hundred seventy-two TSPs completed self-report measures used in these analyses. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the coping measure and yielded four coping subscales: adaptive, avoidant, religious, and substance use. The study used the PROCESS macro to examine whether coping strategies mediate the effect of LOC on professional quality of life. Regression analyses were used to examine moderation effects of LOC and coping strategies on professional quality of life. Results revealed that the relationships between both powerful others and chance with compassion satisfaction were negatively mediated by avoidant coping. Avoidant coping also negatively mediated the relationship between internal LOC and secondary traumatic stress. The relationship between chance and burnout was positively mediated by avoidant coping. Avoidant coping partially, negatively mediated the relationship between internal LOC and burnout. Lastly, the relationship between powerful others and burnout and internal LOC and compassion satisfaction was partially, positively mediated by avoidant coping. No coping strategies statistically moderated the relationship between LOC and professional quality of life. Findings suggested that avoidant coping plays an important role in the professional quality of life for TSPs and that internal LOC may have critical implications for a strong professional quality of life.

To explore the professional quality of life and associated factors among Ugandan midwives working in Mubende and Mityana rural district to recommend interventions to improve professional well-being and outcomes of midwifery care. Professional quality of life of midwives working in rural areas may be influenced by several personal and work setting factors of care professionals often impacting the quality and outcomes of patient care. A cross-sectional study design was used to collect data from 224 midwives working in two rural districts of Uganda. The majority of participants were female (80 %), with an associate degree in midwifery (92 %). The mean age and years of experience were 34 ± 6.3 and 4 ± 2.1 years, respectively. The mean scores on the professional quality of life scale showed average compassionate satisfaction (19 ± 4.88), burnout (36.9 ± 6.22) and secondary traumatic stress (22.9 ± 6.69). The midwives' compassion satisfaction was related to psychological well-being (p < 0.01) and job satisfaction (p < 0.01). Conversely, their burnout levels and secondary traumatic stress were associated with education level (p < 0.01), marital status (p < 0.01), involvement in non-midwifery health care activities (p < 0.01), and physical well-being (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION TO PRACTICE: Midwives working in rural areas of resource-poor countries have moderate professional quality of life and tend to experience moderate to high levels of burnout, secondary traumatic stress and compassion satisfaction in their professional work. Therefore, employers need to provide deliberate work based services such as counselling, debriefing, training and social support to enhance midwives professional quality of life and quality of midwifery care and practice.

BackgroundThis research presents a short version of the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) scale, one of the most frequently used questionnaires in the arena of applied healthcare investigation. It measures burnout (BO), compassion fatigue (CF), and compassion satisfaction (CS).MethodsA 9-item version of the ProQOL was developed. In Study 1, this short version, which used items from version IV of the ProQOL, was administered to 817 palliative care professionals from Spain, Argentina, and Brazil. In Study 2, the same nine items, but this time from version V of the ProQOL, were administered to 296 Spanish palliative care professionals.ResultsStudy 1: The Short ProQOL showed an adequate internal structure, and invariance across the countries studied (χ2(106) = 185.620 (p < 0.001), CFI = .929, RMSEA = 0.058 [0.044, 0.072], SRMR = 0.081). Argentinians showed higher levels of BO (mean difference = 0.172, p = 0.042, Cohen’s d = 0.168), whereas Brazilians showed higher levels of CF (Mean difference = 0.384, p = 0.002, Cohen’s d = 0.352). Study 2: the Short ProQOL again showed adequate internal structure and reliability (χ2(24) = 134.504 (p < 0.001); CFI = 0.953; RMSEA = 0.126 [0.106, 0.147]; SRMR = 0.063), and was related to coping with death, self-compassion, and self-care.ConclusionsThe Short ProQOL could help facilitate the application of harmonizing measurements and its use for cross-cultural comparisons and occupational health monitoring was satisfactory.

The Professional Quality of Life scale is a measure intended to provide practitioners and researchers with an indication of a caring professional’s compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. While this measure has been used extensively in nursing research, owing to the relevancy of patient-care associated satisfaction and fatigue within this profession, information regarding the construct validity of this measure is less well represented in the literature. We examined the construct validity of the Professional Quality of Life scale using a Rasch analysis procedure on each of its three scales, as a means of substantiating their measurement adequacy. Responses on the Professional Quality of Life scale from 1615 registered nurses (age x̅ = 46.48 years, SD = 11.78) were analysed. While support for the measurement adequacy (invariance, person/item fit, and unidimensionality) of the compassion satisfaction scale was found, the burnout and secondary traumatic stress scales did not demonstrate adequate measurement properties. We instead present an alternative measurement model of these subscales, involving items from each, to form a robust measure of compassion fatigue, and provide recoding, scoring, and normed scores for both measures. Our findings indicate that use of the Professional Quality of Life scale’s burnout and secondary traumatic stress scales may require caution, while our revised compassion satisfaction and fatigue scales provide robust measurement options for practitioners and researchers.