Compassion Fatigue Research Articles

The Costs of Caring: Quantifying Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction in Burn Therapists.

Recovery from a severe burn injury requires early and aggressive therapy, which is often painful and distressing to the patient. Burn therapists who guide these interventions may be prone to experiencing secondary trauma and compassion fatigue through repeated exposure to difficult situations. At the same time, therapists may gain a sense of purpose and altruism from their work, fostering compassion satisfaction. Despite being well documented in other health professions, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction have not been sufficiently explored among burn therapists. This study aimed to quantify and characterize burn therapists' compassion fatigue and satisfaction using the Professional Quality of Life scale and to answer the question of what job-related factors may impact these outcomes. A total of 143 burn therapists participated in this study. Results revealed compassion fatigue subsale scores of burnout and secondary traumatic stress in the low or moderate range and compassion satisfaction scores in the moderate or high ranges for all participants. This study presents new knowledge for the field of burn care in its quantification of professional quality of life in burn therapists. While burn therapists experienced moderate-to-high levels of compassion satisfaction in their work, burnout and stress also approached moderate levels. Years of practice was a significant predictor of compassion. Although the reasons for this are not clear, it may be related to increased competence or confidence in practice and may suggest a need for different support strategies for practitioners at each stage of their burn therapy career.

Strengths Perspective: How Social Work Students Use Mindfulness as a Self-Care Strategy

(1) Background: As helping professionals, social workers are more susceptible to compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and burnout due to regular exposure to clients’ trauma, traumatic situations, and heavy caseloads. Social work students also face similar experiences during their field placement as they prepare to enter the profession. In addition, stress, a significant factor affecting academic performance, is prevalent among social work students. Prolonged stress can lead to chronic health conditions, emphasizing the need to develop effective stress management practice techniques. (2) Objective: To examine the impact of a four-week mindfulness strengths-perspective synchronous series and the impact on social work students’ personal strengths, self-care, stress, and coping strategies. (3) Methods: The purpose of this study was to examine social work students’ experiences with using mindfulness from a strengths perspective. Twenty-three (n = 23) social work students participated in a four-week synchronous mindfulness series that incorporated a strengths perspective, focusing on stress reduction and self-care practices. The series consisted of weekly mindfulness activities and writing prompts, concluding with a focus group in the final week. A thematic analysis was utilized to identify key themes. (4) Results: The researchers identified six themes: consistency and commitment, affirmations and self-love, a caring community, mindfulness strategies, physical restoration, and enrichment and learning. (5) Conclusion: Students were able to develop a better understanding of self-care and the benefits of taking time to incorporate practices for their health and wellness.

Professional Quality of Life and Turnover Intention in Forensic Nurse Program Coordinators: Implications to Forensic Nurse Workforce Development.

Significant barriers to forensic nurse workforce development exist, affecting patient care access. Retention of forensic nurses is a persistent problem, and turnover of forensic nurses can be attributed to many factors related to professional quality of life, including compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout (BO), and secondary traumatic stress (STS). The aim of this study was to identify the effect of an educational session on the topic of professional quality of life and strategies for mitigating the impact of stressors within the forensic nurse role on Professional Quality of Life Scale-5 and Turnover Intention Scale-6. A convenience sample of forensic nurse program coordinators was surveyed using a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental survey design. Correlation between professional quality of life indicators and turnover intention was explored. Cohort (n = 38) preintervention CS levels were average to high (mean = 41.42), BO levels were average to low (mean = 22.53), and STS levels were average to low (mean = 22.89). Statistically significant positive correlations were noted between each Professional Quality of Life Scale indicator and turnover intention (CS: r = 0.59, p < 0.0001; BO: r = 0.98, p < 0.0000; STS: r = 0.67, p < 0.0000). A statistically significant decrease in BO level (α = 0.05, p = 0.0454) was noted postintervention. BO and STS had a strong positive correlation to turnover intention. BO levels decreased to a significant degree when reassessed 3 months after the educational intervention. Increased awareness of the impact of CS, BO, and STS could decrease BO in forensic nurses with potential reduction in turnover.

Compassion fatigue and psychological problems among women mental health practitioners: character strengths and psychological resilience act as buffers

Compassion fatigue and psychological problems among women mental health practitioners: character strengths and psychological resilience act as buffers

The need for recovery: An investigation into short-term work-related fatigue in veterinary nurses.

Veterinary nursing is physically and emotionally demanding, putting veterinary nurses at risk of acute work-related fatigue (AWRF). Despite the increased recognition of chronic occupational syndromes such as burnout and compassion fatigue in recent years, few studies have investigated how AWRF impacts individuals and the profession. An anonymous survey open to all UK-based registered veterinary nurses (RVNs) was distributed via email and social media. The survey investigated work patterns, hobbies, opinions about work and intentions to leave the veterinary profession. An English translation of the need for recovery (NFR) scale was used to quantify the AWRF. The median NFR score from 387 responses was 81.8, indicating high levels of AWRF. Long shifts, sole-charge work and overtime were associated with higher scores, while having support at work and a better work-life balance were associated with lower scores. Higher scores were correlated with intentions to leave the profession. Although validated as a measure of AWRF, the unidimensional NFR scale oversimplifies the complexities of fatigue. A limited number of RVNs responded to the survey, reducing statistical power. Although there is no single solution to staff turnover, the results from this survey suggest that addressing AWRF may improve retention of RVNs.

Addressing Secondary Traumatic Stress in Pediatric Emergency Room Social Workers: A Toolkit for New Graduates

AbstractSecondary traumatic stress (STS), the emotional duress that results when an individual hears about the firsthand trauma experiences of another, is a significant concern for many social workers, particularly those in high-stress and trauma-exposed environments such as emergency rooms or psychiatric hospitals. Newly graduated social workers are especially susceptible to STS due to their limited experience and exposure to the emotional distress of clients. Yet, limited studies have focused on newly graduated social workers and STS. This study is twofold: (1) it attempts to provide insight into the experiences of pediatric emergency room social workers (PERSW) with STS, and (2) to explicate the utility of the findings in practical strategies to assist newly graduated and current social workers entering high-stressful work environments. A thematic analysis and semi-structured interviews were used with twenty-three pediatric emergency room social workers with at least one year of experience. The analysis revealed three themes: (1) the trauma of the job, (2) the effects of STS, and (3) coping strategies for STS. The findings underscore the need for a specialized toolkit for new graduates in pediatric emergency social work, offering resources and strategies tailored to the unique challenges of this field.

Compassion Fatigue and Satisfaction Within Sanctuary-Based Primate Husbandry

Abstract Animal-care workers are at risk of compassion fatigue (i.e., experiencing burnout and secondary traumatic stress [STS]) which has been shown to adversely impact employee wellbeing, organizational productivity, and caregiving quality in other caregiving fields. The current cross-cultural analysis explored compassion fatigue among 46 primate sanctuary workers across three continents who completed the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) scale and Trauma-Informed Organizational Culture (TIOC) survey, and answered questions about their work. Higher compassion satisfaction (CS) and lower compassion fatigue were observed in primate care workers compared to previously published animal-care worker samples. CS negatively correlated with burnout whereas burnout positively correlated with STS. Workplace support positively correlated with CS while supervisory and peer support negatively correlated with burnout. Lastly, African-residing respondents had higher burnout and STS than did European- and North American-residing respondents and more often mentioned conservation concerns and recovery and release of animals as important elements of their work.

QIM24-177: Effects of a Music-Based Intervention on Reducing Compassion Fatigue in Oncology Advanced Practice Providers.

QIM24-177: Effects of a Music-Based Intervention on Reducing Compassion Fatigue in Oncology Advanced Practice Providers.

Advancing Clinical Decision Making Through Trauma-Informed Care in Pediatric Hearing Health Care

Purpose: Adverse childhood experiences affect early brain development and future health outcomes. The principles of trauma-informed care (TIC) incorporate safety, screening, understanding context, avoiding retraumatization, and discharge planning to provide optimal care for patients and families. Secondary traumatic stress is the trauma providers' experience when serving patients and families who have experienced trauma. The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of trauma, investigate the principles of TIC, and identify the ways to implement it in hearing health care. Conclusions: Providers working with children and families who have experienced trauma should be trained to provide a trauma-informed approach and learn the signs, symptoms, and risks of secondary traumatic stress. To improve the quality of care for children with hearing loss who have experienced trauma, their adverse experiences must be considered with trauma-informed techniques incorporated into the hearing health care model of care.

Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence, Self-Compassion and Wellbeing in Ambulance Staff

Objective&#x0D; Ambulance staff are at increased risk of negative wellbeing outcomes, though there is a lack of research into their wellbeing. This study aims to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and self-compassion, two factors related to positive wellbeing in other populations, and the professional quality of life and psychological wellbeing of ambulance staff.&#x0D; Methods&#x0D; A within-participants cross-sectional survey was completed with UK ambulance staff. Data were collected via an anonymous online survey on participants’ demographics, emotional intelligence, self-compassion (separated into the subscales of self-coldness and self-kindness), compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction, and psychological wellbeing. The relationships between variables were first explored using Pearson’s r correlational analyses. Then three hierarchical multiple regressions were used to explore what predicted the outcome variables of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction and psychological wellbeing.&#x0D; Results&#x0D; 146 ambulance staff completed the survey. Emotional intelligence and self-kindness correlated negatively with compassion fatigue, while self-coldness correlated positively with compassion fatigue; emotional intelligence and self-kindness correlated positively with both compassion satisfaction and psychological wellbeing, and self-coldness correlated negatively with compassion satisfaction and psychological wellbeing. In hierarchical multiple regression analyses, compassion fatigue was significantly predicted by greater self-coldness and years of experience; compassion satisfaction was predicted by greater emotional intelligence and fewer years of experience; and psychological wellbeing was predicted by greater emotional intelligence and lower self-coldness.&#x0D; Conclusions&#x0D; The findings indicated that emotional intelligence and self-coldness can predict aspects of professional and psychological wellbeing in ambulance staff. Self-kindness does not predict wellbeing in models with age, years of experience, emotional intelligence, and self-coldness. This suggests that enhancing emotional intelligence and reducing self-coldness could be targets in interventions to support ambulance staff wellbeing.

Compassion fatigue: A dramatic and unfavorable consequence in the nursing profession

Nurses are one of the most important pillars of the treatment department, who, according to their professional role, are responsible for important tasks such as mental and physical care of the patient, if the above activities do not follow the principles of safety, as well as peace and well-being at work, in the occurrence of physical disorders and the psychology of this group plays a significant role [1]. They are compassionate caregivers who take care of people who experience physical, mental, or spiritual pain, and due to the special conditions of their profession, they experience a lot of pressure and stress that this pressure and stress over time causes adverse consequences in nurses. One of the important and significant consequences is the exhaustion of nurses from compassion for patients [2].

Determinants of Negative and Positive Consequences of Indirect Exposure to Trauma in Polish Nuns Caring for Disabled People: The Role of Spirituality and Optimistic Life Attitude.

Professionals working with people after traumatic experiences are indirectly exposed to the consequences of trauma. The aim of the study was to establish the role of spirituality and optimism in the occurrence of secondary traumatic stress and growth among 104 Polish Catholic nuns caring for peoplewith adisability. The study used 4 standard measurement tools. A multidimensional analysis identified four types of consequences. Nuns caring for people with disabilities are as vulnerable to secondary traumatization as other professionals working with traumatized people, but they are more likely to experience positive consequences of care, and this is thanks to theirspirituality.

Hispanic worker attitudes toward pig euthanasia on U.S. farms

IntroductionOn-farm pig euthanasia considers aspects of animal welfare and industry economics. Guidelines are available about the euthanasia process, but the agricultural workforce is highly diverse and guidelines do not consider cultural barriers. Euthanasia requires the ability to identify compromised pigs, technical skills, and willingness to euthanize pigs. In addition, timely euthanasia is part of the Common Swine Industry Audit (CSIA) and, thus, can lead to failed audits if not performed as required by the audit standards. The United States (US) swine industry employs a high percentage of Latin American workers, some US residents/citizens, and others through non-immigrant North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) visas. These workers vary in their level of education and swine industry experience. Proper training of this workforce and identification of the barriers associated with performing timely euthanasia are critical to promote improved welfare practices. The objectives of this study were to: (1) develop a survey instrument to identify Hispanic caretaker attitudes toward pig euthanasia, (2) assess and describe swine caretakers’ attitudes toward pig euthanasia using the developed survey instrument, and (3) determine the demographic and psychological barriers associated with performing pig euthanasia.MethodsParticipants (n = 163) were surveyed from 16 farms across the State of Iowa. The on-farm survey was administered for two days in a period of 60 min per day.ResultsThe results for demographics and the swine management survey data indicated that employees with less time working on the farm showed less knowledge of the CSIA, lower perceived ability to identify compromised pigs that needed to be euthanized, lower willingness to pecrform euthanasia on their own, and preferred not to have the responsibility of telling others when to euthanize pigs (p &amp;lt; 0.001). Secondary traumatic stress and transgressions were significantly correlated scales, associated with burnout, betrayals, and worker satisfaction (p = 0.022). Furthermore, individuals identifying as female had higher secondary traumatic stress scores (p = 0.026) and lower compassion satisfaction scores (p = 0.015).DiscussionThis data suggest that there are demographic, psychometric, and training-related factors correlated with Hispanic caretakers’ feelings about pig euthanasia. The results of this study could be used to further improve and develop targeted training programs for Hispanic caretakers for early identification of compromised pigs and timely euthanasia, which could benefit human well-being, animal welfare, and the swine industry audit performance.

Informal Peer Support and Intentional Acts of Kindness May Attenuate the Impact of Work-Related Stressors on Compassion Satisfaction, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Burnout of Emergency Medical Services Clinicians

ObjectiveEmergency medical services (EMS) Code Lavender was developed to support EMS clinicians after stressful events via consistent recognition of events, informal peer support, and intentional acts of kindness. This study evaluated changes in burnout screening tool responses of EMS clinicians in response to program implementation and the coincidental start of coronavirus disease 2019. MethodsAnonymous surveys with demographic questions and 2 burnout screening tools were distributed before program implementation (spring 2020) and 20 months later (fall 2021). Analysis included t-tests, Fisher exact tests, and multivariable linear regression. ResultsSeventy-seven preprogram (59% response rate) and 108 intraprogram (88% response rate) survey responses were included. No changes existed between preprogram and intraprogram responses across all subscale scores. Sex was associated with depersonalization subscale scores, with men having scores 1.53 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.11-2.95) higher than women. Compared with emergency medical technicians, paramedics had higher compassion satisfaction (OR 3.50; 95% CI 1.79-5.70) and personal accomplishment scores (OR 2.40; 95% CI 1.08-3.71). Transport nurses had higher personal accomplishment (OR 3.29; 95% CI 1.18-5.40), depersonalization (OR 3.73; 95% CI 1.19-6.26), and rates of burnout symptoms (OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.09-0.98) than emergency medical technicians. ConclusionThe organizational commitment, peer support, and authentic leadership of EMS Code Lavender may attenuate work-related stressors among EMS clinicians.

Zentangle® Pilot Study: A Mindfulness Exercise for Oncology Nurses.

This study introduced Zentangle®, which involves drawing simple, repetitive lines and shapes to create patterns, as a tool to promote wellness for oncology nurses in a clinical practice setting. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Zentangle used as a meditative activity in an acute time frame decreased stress, fatigue, and burnout while increasing professional quality of life and well-being in oncology nurses. Twenty-six oncology nurses participated in a two-hour Zentangle class and received materials to complete art over four weeks. The Perceived Stress Scale, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-29, and the Professional Quality of Life measure were administered at selected periods. Twenty-four participants completed the study. Nurses' well-being, socialization, anxiety, fatigue, secondary traumatic stress levels, and stress levels improved significantly. Most participants noted they would continue using Zentangle after the study. Zentangle is another tool to advance nurses' wellness by encouraging self-care.

Covid -19 and the question of taming compassion fatigue

The present paper underlines the effect of Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of young adult men. It is a cross- cultural realist ethnography of South Asian natives from Indian sub-continent who immigrated to middle-east Ras-al-khair. Their experience to adversities during the breakdown of pandemic in 2020, was the subject of research. The study reflects the psychological state of the covid infected respondents identified as Compassion fatigue or the negative cost of caring others. It confers to a qualitative research design. Participant observation and focused group discussions were the study tools used on selected case studies. Higher intensity of compassion fatigue was experienced by the adult males who faced lack of social support, loneliness, were married with a child and had either nuclear or solo households in their respective native places.

Sense of failure in end of life care: Perspectives from physicians and nurses

Limited knowledge exists regarding sensed failure resulting provision of end-of-life (EOL) care. Among medical health professionals (MHP), a sense of failure is associated with impaired patientcare and reduced worker wellbeing, including higher rates of burnout and secondary traumatic stress. As part of a larger mixed-methods study on the effects of EOL-care provision on MHP in general hospitals, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 22 physicians and nurses at three tertiary Israeli hospitals, representing a wide range of medical specialties, training, experience, and cultural backgrounds. Qualitative thematic analysis of the interviews led to the identification of the theme ‘sense of failure’ with the sub-themes ‘sources’ and ‘lived meanings’ of the sensed failure. Apart from the source ‘losing a patient’ all other identified sources were recognized as work-related risk factors, including ‘unsupportive environments’ and ‘shortcomings of the medical practice.’ Two of the lived meaning ‘sense of personal responsibility’ and ‘moral injury’ were also recognized as work-related risk factors. Surprisingly, albeit the adverse context of EOL-care, the two remaining lived meanings ‘learning from failure’ and ‘sense of purpose’ were recognized as protective resilience factors. Changes in workplace norms by focusing on leadership and mentoring programs and implementation of evidence based interventions aimed at reducing the sense of failure and enhancing feelings of purpose are recommended. Finally, the findings described in the study would benefit from continued studies on larger scales.

Bereavement Care Team: Improving ICU Nurses' Professional Bereavement and Patient Family Experience.

When nurses care for dying patients, their compassion fatigue may increase and lead to burnout and feelings of professional bereavement. However, if a nurse perceives that the patient had a "good death," it may have a positive impact on them and reduce their emotional distress. The purpose of this project is to reduce nurses' feelings of professional bereavement by implementing a Bereavement Care Team (BCT) in the intensive care unit (ICU). This study is a pre-post quasi-experimental design. The Chen and Chow bereavement subscales Factor 1 and Factor 2 measured elements of a nurse's professional bereavement, and 5 items were statistically significant. Nurses felt a reduction in their exhaustion, frustration, and feeling fatigue in their job, reduced feelings about being nervous and worried about potential professional/patient conflicts, and nurses were moved by the patient's family's understanding of the patient's death. Implementing a BCT in the ICU provided an environment that created a "good death" for the patient and their loved ones. These findings supported the need for the BCT as they demonstrated an improvement in the ICU nurses' feelings of professional bereavement.

Effect of compassion fatigue on emotional labor in female nurses: Moderating effect of self-compassion.

A two-stage survey design with a convenience sample. Participants were female nursing staff recruited from emergency departments, intensive care units, ward nursing units, and outpatient departments of medical centers, regional hospitals, and district hospitals in Taiwan. A total of 300 questionnaire copies in each of the first and second stages were distributed, and 272 pairs of responses were retrieved (valid response rate = 91%). The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were tested, and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with AMOS 21. The proposed hypotheses were verified using hierarchical regression conducted with SPSS version 25.0. This study revealed that compassion fatigue positively predicted surface acting (β = 0.12, p < 0.05) and negatively predicted deep acting (β = -0.18, p < 0.01) and expression of genuine emotions (β = -0.31, p < 0.01). In addition, self-compassion negatively moderates the relationships between compassion fatigue and surface acting (β = -0.12, p < 0.05), and positively moderates the relationships between compassion fatigue and expression of genuine emotions (β = 0.15, p < 0.01). To avoid excessive consumption of emotional resources, nurses with high compassion fatigue may employ surface acting by engaging in emotional labor without making an effort to adjust their feelings. Nurses need also be sympathized with, and such sympathy can come from hospitals, supervisors, colleagues, and, most crucially, the nurses themselves. Hospital executives should propose improvement strategies that can prevent the compassion fatigue on nurses, such as improving nurses' self-compassion.

Effects of COVID on Mandated Child Abuse Reporting Among Nurses: The Mediating Role of Compassion Fatigue.

Because COVID triggered elevated rates of child abuse, but diminished rates of child abuse reporting, we explored predictors of nurses' attitudes toward reporting suspected child abuse during the COVID pandemic. In particular, we expected that compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction would mediate the effects of COVID-related stressors (i.e., exposure to COVID patient death and suffering; COVID-related family income loss; frequent direct care of COVID patients; and parental burnout) on nurses' negative attitudes toward reporting suspected child abuse. Employing chain-referral sampling, we recruited a sample of 244 registered nurses (83% White; 87% women). Supporting hypotheses, compassion fatigue mediated the effects of job-related COVID stressors (exposure to COVID patient death and suffering; COVID-related family income loss; and frequent direct care of COVID patients) on nurses' negative attitudes toward reporting suspected child abuse. In addition, among nurses who were also parents, nurses' self-reported parental burnout mediated the relation between compassion fatigue and negative attitudes toward reporting suspected child abuse. In addition, compassion satisfaction mediated the effect of nurses' parental burnout on nurses' negative attitudes toward reporting suspected child abuse.