Compassion Fatigue Research Articles

The Relationship Between Ethical Attitudes and Compassion Fatigue in Nurses Working in Surgical Intensive Care Units

Aim This study aimed to explore the relationship between ethical attitudes and compassion fatigue experienced by nurses in surgical intensive care units. Methods It is mixed-design research. The study was conducted with 38 nurses working in the surgical intensive care units of a university hospital who agreed to participate in the study. Quantitative data were collected using the Nurse Information Form, the Ethical Attitude Scale for Nursing Care, and the Compassion Fatigue–Short Scale. Qualitative data were collected using a semistructured questionnaire, through individual interviews with 9 volunteer nurses in surgical intensive care units. Results The study revealed that nurses exhibited high levels of ethical attitudes in nursing care along with high levels of compassion fatigue. During the qualitative data analysis, 4 key themes emerged: ethical approaches in surgical intensive care units, professional quality of life in nurses, the reflections of compassion fatigue on ethical behavior, and nurses’ well-being. Conclusions It was concluded that when compassion fatigue increased in nurses in surgical intensive care units, ethical attitudes in nursing care decreased. Therefore, compassion fatigue can be addressed by programs that support nurses’ well-being, such as meditation, deep breathing, self-compassion exercises, and so on. It can be reduced.

Evaluation of meaningful recognition programs in three colleges of nursing

BackgroundThe nursing faculty shortage in the United States presents a challenge to maintaining a robust healthcare workforce. Meaningful recognition (MR) is an evidence-based practice that improved nurse burnout (BO) in the clinical setting. There is limited literature on its impact on nurse faculty. PurposeThree colleges of nursing implemented The DAISY Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty as an MR program to improve compassion satisfaction (CS) and BO among nursing faculty. MethodsThis project employed a pre- and post-survey design to assess changes in faculty CS, BO, and secondary traumatic stress using the ProQOL Professional Quality of Life version 5. DiscussionThe results suggest that while the implementation of MR programs did not significantly alter these metrics, the faculty maintained stable levels of CS despite the stressful COVID-19 pandemic. ConclusionAdditional research is needed to explore the potential for MR to mitigate faculty BO.

Understanding the interplay of compassion fatigue and moral resilience on moral distress in ICU nurses: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundIntensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses frequently confront significant psychological challenges, including compassion fatigue, moral distress, and diminished moral resilience. These issues not only affect their well-being but also impact the quality of care provided to patients. The interplay of these factors is complex and not fully understood, particularly how compassion fatigue influences the relationship between moral resilience and moral distress.ObjectivesTo explore the complex interplay between compassion fatigue and moral distress among ICU nurses, and to elucidate how compassion fatigue influences the protective role of moral resilience against moral distress.Research designA cross-sectional study was conducted using a nationwide random sample of ICU nurses in China. Latent profile analysis identified subgroups based on levels of compassion fatigue. Moderation analysis examined whether compassion fatigue moderated the association between moral resilience and moral distress.ResultsAmong 612 ICU nurses, latent profile analysis revealed three distinct groups with high, moderate, and low levels of compassion fatigue. Being female was protective against high compassion fatigue, while ages 30–49 yrs., lack of bachelor’s degree, and dissatisfaction with salary increased compassion fatigue risk. Moderation analysis showed compassion fatigue significantly moderated the relationship between moral resilience and moral distress. Nurses with higher compassion fatigue exhibited a stronger association between low moral resilience and high moral distress.ConclusionCompassion fatigue and moral distress are interconnected phenomena among ICU nurses. Demographic factors like gender, age, education, and income satisfaction impact compassion fatigue risk. High compassion fatigue impairs moral resilience, exacerbating moral distress. Comprehensive interventions targeting both compassion fatigue and moral resilience, tailored to nurses’ demographic profiles, are needed to support this workforce.

Do shift-working nurses’ work-life quality relate to their physical health and diet quality?

Abstract Background Shift work negatively affects work-related quality of life and this situation causes significant labour force losses and decreased productivity in the society, especially health problems in nurses. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between work-related quality of life, physical health level and nutritional behaviours of nurses working in shifts. Methods This descriptive and relationship-seeking study was conducted with 312 nurses selected by quota sampling in Istanbul. Data were collected between December 2022 to July 2023 using the The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), Physical Health Questionnaire and Food Consumption Frequency Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation tests were conducted on IBM SPSS 25.0. BeBIS 7.1 software were used for calculation diet index. Results Compassion Satisfaction (CS), Burnout (B) and Compassion Fatigue (CF) scores of nurses was examined, a relationship was found between CS score and B score (r=-0.39 p < 0.05) and between B score and CF score (r = 0.58 p < 0.05). CS score correlated with Cardiovascular Risk Level score (r=-0.15 p < 0.05) and diet index score (r = 0.15 p < 0.05). B score correlated with Gastrointestinal Risk Level score (r = 0.27 p < 0.05) and Cardiovascular Risk Level score (r = 0.38 p < 0.05). There was a correlation between the score of CF and Gastrointestinal Risk Level score (r = 0.25 p < 0.05) and Cardiovascular Risk Level score (r = 0.31 p < 0.05). Daily energy, fibre, vitamin B1 and C, folate, calcium and magnesium intakes of nurses were lower than the recommended. Conclusions Research results support that the gastrointestinal and cardiovascular systems have a direct relationship with stress and emotional states. In the policies to be developed within the scope of occupational health nursing practices, it is recommended to carry out studies to improve the physical health and nutritional behaviours of nurses in order to improve their work-related quality of life. Key messages • Nurses are a risky occupational group in terms of burnout. Protection studies should be prioritised to prevent burnout. • Gastrointestinal and cardiovascular system complaints of nurses should be paid special attention during recruitment and periodic examinations.

Barriers and enablers towards integrated care for sexual violence victims in humanitarian settings

Abstract Background Sexual violence (SV) is a complex public health issue that necessitates a coordinated multisectoral response. Ideally, this response should be provided through an integrated care package to strengthen timely access and comprehensive care for victims. However, in humanitarian settings with high levels of SV, care is often offered through fragmented silos, exacerbating the burden on the health workforce and victims. Methods Using the Valentijn framework, a qualitative, real-time Delphi study was conducted with 17 SV care experts representing 7 geographical subregions to gain informed opinions on key contextual and health system barriers and enablers for integrated care for SV victims in humanitarian settings. Results Challenges and enablers reported across the diversity of the participants’ contexts showed consistency. Contextual challenges included volatile contexts, collapsed health systems, and poor infrastructure. Professional challenges included a lack of expertise among healthcare providers (HCPs), high staff attrition, and compassion fatigue among HCPs. Health systems challenges included poor referral and coordination mechanisms, insufficient resources, misaligned donor-programme priorities and low prioritisation of SV comprehensive care. Key enablers reported were effective networking, community engagement, capacity building, co-locating services, participatory management, promoting staff’s sense of ownership, digitalised information systems, and joint patient files. Conclusions The sustainability of integrated care for SV victims can be strengthened by ensuring HCPs access regular psychological support and training and are incentivised to provide quality care. Regular coordination among actors, including donors, can support integrating care that responds to patients’ holistic needs. Further research is needed to assess HCPs’ and SV victims’ experiences of current service delivery and how to optimise integrated care in humanitarian settings. Key messages • Addressing care providers challenges in humanitarian settings, such as high attrition, lack of training, psychosocial support, and burnout, can ensure proper integration of sexual violence care. • Integration of sexual violence care demands systemic changes, including aligning donor-programme goals, building accountability mechanisms and the buy-in of political and community leaders.

Occupational burnout in nuclear medicine technologists working in Australia and New Zealand - results of a multi-national survey.

Occupational burnout can be associated with negative feelings about the workplace and feeling that a person's efforts are of little consequence. Within a healthcare setting, occupational burnout can be attributed to a high workload or a non-supportive work environment. Higher levels of burnout are associated with increased absenteeism and turnover, increased medical errors and decreased patient care. The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of occupational burnout within nuclear medicine technologists (NMTs) working in Australia and New Zealand. An online questionnaire was distributed via QuestionPro. The questionnaire consisted of four sections, including the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) Version 5 (2009) measuring compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress in the workplace. For this study, only the burnout component of this scale is reported. There were 162 survey responses. Of the 18 New Zealand participants, 10 (56%) reported moderate levels of burnout. Of the 144 Australian participants, 114 (79%) reported moderate levels of burnout. No NMTs reported high levels of burnout. All states of Australia were represented in the survey, with Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria having the highest number of participants reporting moderate levels of burnout. This study revealed that more than half of New Zealand participants and three quarters of Australian participants reported moderate levels of burnout. It is imperative to address the wellbeing needs of NMTs working in Australia and New Zealand at an individual and organisational level to support NMTs to be more engaged in their work and help organisations retain staff.

A Canadian Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner's Personal Reflection and Ongoing Questioning of Vicarious Trauma.

The objective of this article was to provide a first-person account of the vulnerable aspects of my life where I questioned if VT had influenced my thought processes and to uncover the potential health risks associated with exposure to patients' repeated stories of trauma. I questioned whether I was experiencing VT or other disorders such as burnout, posttraumatic stress disorder, or compassion fatigue. The scholarly literature was reviewed after my personal reflection to analyze my personal experiences and to gain clarity on how VT and/or other related concepts may impact the professional and personal lives of SANEs. Methods used to produce my personal stories have been done via self-reflection and journaling. Three stories that I believe may resemble VT are shared and analyzed vis-à-vis the literature. My personal vignettes are compared with signs and symptoms of VT and illustrate how they may manifest in the daily lives of SANEs. To date, researchers have neglected to explore concrete examples of the personal depth VT may exhibit in an individual's life. By disclosing and synthesizing my personal stories, I hope to encourage SANEs to be open about their experiences, spread awareness and prevention strategies regarding VT, and, ultimately, further enhance well-being and promote increased longevity in their careers.

School Social Workers’ Reports of Differences in Policies and Practices in Trauma-Informed and Non-Trauma-Informed Schools

This study explored trauma-informed schools from the perspective of social workers, documenting the reported practices and policies associated with trauma-informed approaches in U.S. schools. Survey data from 538 school social workers were analyzed to investigate the differences in policies and practices between schools identified as trauma informed and not. Logistic regression analyses examined whether the presence of specific school practices and policies was associated with the identification of a school as trauma informed. Of a wide array of programs and policies that may be present in trauma-informed schools, only the presence of trauma training and resources for secondary traumatic stress were key predictors of social workers’ identification of a school as trauma informed. The implementation of trauma training has long been the primary focus of trauma-informed approaches in schools. Should commitment to trauma-informed approaches endure, we recommend moving beyond training and secondary traumatic stress resources to deepen the field’s focus on implementing trauma-informed practices and policies at all organizational levels. We also recommend that future research looks carefully at how some school safety and trauma-informed approaches may be incompatible and the extent to which trauma-informed approaches improve or detract from children’s educational experiences and outcomes.

The negative impacts of secondary traumatic stress and mutual suffering: considerations in the hospital setting.

Nurses and other health professionals may be at an increased risk of experiencing emotional disturbance associated with caring for people who are experiencing distress, illness or disease or who are at the end stage of their life. This was a particular problem during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article seeks to explore how working closely with individuals who are experiencing ill health may impact negatively on the nurse as a care provider. This exposure to trauma, illness and death can result in a vicarious experience of trauma that may result in a sense of shared experience with the patient. The emotional burden this places on the nurse can lead to increased anxiety, stress and a need to detach from the patient. This can have a detrimental effect on patient care and nurses must remain vigilant to their susceptibility to, and experience of, mutual suffering through secondary trauma. Although nursing offers many positive experiences, this article is focused on highlighting the negative impacts of secondary traumatic stress. This article briefly outlines the literature relating to secondary traumatic stress and mutual suffering in the acute hospital setting and does not consider mental health settings or patients. The aim of the article is to close the theory-practice gap while also encouraging personal reflection on nurses' experiences of mutual suffering in practice. The author recognises the loaded nature of the term 'mutual suffering'; however, this is an established phrase used to explain the phenomena of interest. Although the term 'suffering' may imply a passive sick role for nurses, in this context the term should be seen as a shared sense of the experience of the patients and health staff.

Effects of a mindfulness-based health promotion program on mindfulness, psychological capital, compassion fatigue, and affect in healthcare workers

Effects of a mindfulness-based health promotion program on mindfulness, psychological capital, compassion fatigue, and affect in healthcare workers

Who is fatigued? A repeated cross-sectional survey of officer attitudes towards people who use opioids, naloxone, and their role in responding to opioid overdoses

Many police departments have equipped their officers with naloxone as a promising response to the opioid crisis. Though research suggests police can effectively administer naloxone, recent studies suggest that officers may develop negative attitudes over time as they continually respond to overdoses. This has been described as a “compassion fatigue” effect. We investigate the compassion fatigue hypothesis with a repeated cross-sectional survey of officers in the Tempe, Arizona Police Department. We focus on three outcomes (1) perceptions of officers' role in responding to overdoses, (2) perceptions of naloxone related risk-compensation beliefs, and (3) stigmatizing perceptions of people who use opioids (PWUOs). We run one-way fixed effects regression models to assess if officer attitudes have changed over the study period. Then we run multivariate regression models to test whether officers' opioid overdose response frequency is associated with any of the three outcomes. The findings suggest officers have become more supportive of responding to overdoses but have developed more stigmatizing views of PWUOs over time. This warrants further research attention. However, opioid overdose response frequency was not associated with any of the outcomes. We conclude with a discussion of these findings and their implications for police involvement in the opioid overdose crisis.

14 Exploring factors contributing to Secondary Traumatic Stress in residents during a child maltreatment paediatrics rotation

Abstract Background Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) refers to the distress and emotional disruption experienced by individuals caring for those who have experienced trauma. STS is increasingly recognised in child serving professions, especially in medical trainees and clinicians working in Child Maltreatment Paediatrics (CMP). Paediatric resident physicians are typically of younger age, work long hours in stressful conditions, and have limited CMP experience. This makes them particularly vulnerable to experiencing STS. In addition to affecting the wellbeing of trainees, STS can impede performance at work and affect patient care. Thus, it is important to understand and mitigate the development of STS among paediatric trainees during their CMP rotation. Objectives This study aims to identify key factors contributing to STS among medical residents at a tertiary care paediatric hospital during a CMP rotation. Design/Methods Qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted to explore the experiences and perceptions of CMP trainees, staff physicians, and psychologists. Quality Improvement methods including a Fishbone diagram (figure 1), 5-whys analysis, and Pareto analysis (figure 2) were used to analyze the factors that contribute to residents developing STS symptoms. Results Our analysis revealed the following themes contributing to STS symptoms in paediatric residents: (1) limited awareness and education on STS symptoms, (2) lack of planned case debriefing, (3) residency-related burn out, (4) limited experience in CMP, (5) hidden curriculum of residency, and (6) limited opportunity to discuss STS symptoms. Conclusion Our study identified factors related to both limited knowledge around STS, and limited opportunities to debrief cases that may contribute to the development of STS among residents. These factors can, in part, be addressed on a program level. This aligns with existing STS literature which emphasizes implementing program level strategies to support professionals in addition to prioritizing self-care. Next steps involve implementing targeted interventions within the rotation to help mitigate STS effects on trainees.

Working With Traumatised Children During Traumatic Times: Residential Child Care Educators' Compassion Fatigue and Work Engagement

Working With Traumatised Children During Traumatic Times: Residential Child Care Educators' Compassion Fatigue and Work Engagement

Occupational Safety, Health, and Well-Being Concerns and Solutions for Management Reported by Sign Language Interpreters: A Qualitative Study

While the occupational health of sign language interpreters has traditionally focused on physical health, evidence demonstrating mental health concerns is growing and supporting a shift to a more integrated approach. We embarked on a qualitative study to guide the adaptation of a previously developed Total Worker Health® program to the context of sign language interpreting. Eight unstructured 90-min focus groups were conducted. Interpreters reported occupational safety, health, and well-being concerns and shared their solutions for management. Twenty-seven interpreters participated (aged 53.7 years; 81% female; 85% white). Predominant concerns centered on topics like workplace violence, secondary traumatic stress or vicarious trauma, lack of work–life integration or boundaries, and loss of agency or loss of self. The organizational culture of the field fostered deprioritization of self, oppression, elitism, sexism, and unhealthy relationships with interpreter peers and community members. Physical health remained a contributor, specifically the physical effects of non-physical work, aging, and differences in exposures across interpreting settings but paled in comparison to mental health and organizational culture. Solutions for management included but were not limited to prioritization of jobs, creating safe spaces/communities of supported practice, and exercise. This study supports the evolution of future research, practice, policy, and capacity building aspiring to a more integrated approach.

Transforming leaders to transform hospitals. Cultivating ethical leadership for compassionate healthcare

The importance of compassionate care has been widely acknowledged in the literature as a crucial component for enhancing patient care, improving clinical outcomes, and reducing burnout, compassion fatigue, malpractice, and healthcare costs (Watts et al., 2023). However, many healthcare systems continue to struggle with effectively implementing and sustaining compassionate care practices due to the burden of administration, limitations in resources, and a focus on efficiency and profitability. The purpose of this paper is to advocate for the necessity of (re) “humanizing” the healthcare environment, which is urgently needed today to counteract the trend of eroding the value or essence of care practices by refocusing on the patient and their family. Specifically, this paper will argue that to reverse this trend, it is crucial to transform the education of healthcare facility leaders and managers at all levels. It is vital to provide them with guidelines and training that is not only technical but also ethical, with a focus on character education. This approach would enable them to recognize the right values and effectively address complex situations from a moral perspective. Providing leaders with the opportunity to flourish through dedicated programs can positively transform our hospitals and healthcare facilities. Such programs are essential for creating a balanced healthcare environment where efficiency and compassionate care coexist, leading to improved care outcomes, reduced costs, and enhanced well-being for professionals.

Nursing Care and Ethical Challenges in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented pressures on healthcare systems across the globe, with nurses playing a pivotal role in managing patient care during this crisis. As front-line caregivers, nurses were not only responsible for delivering essential medical care but also found themselves navigating a series of ethical challenges that were often fraught with complexity. This review delves into the multifaceted role of nursing during the pandemic, focusing on both the clinical care provided and the significant ethical dilemmas faced by nurses. One of the most pressing ethical challenges was the allocation of scarce medical resources. The surge in COVID-19 cases led to critical shortages of ventilators, ICU beds, personal protective equipment (PPE), and other medical supplies. Nurses, often collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, were forced to make difficult decisions regarding which patients would receive these limited resources, raising profound ethical concerns about fairness and equity in healthcare. The review highlights the need for transparent, consistent decision-making frameworks that prioritize justice and equity. Such frameworks help ensure that resource allocation is guided by ethical principles rather than subjective judgments, thus fostering a fairer and more consistent approach to patient care. Another significant ethical issue addressed in this review is the balance between personal safety and professional duty. Nurses were often placed in situations where they had to weigh their commitment to patient care against the risks posed to their own health, particularly when faced with shortages of adequate PPE. This balancing act between personal safety and professional obligation introduced ethical dilemmas, such as the extent to which nurses were adequately informed of the risks they faced and whether healthcare institutions fulfilled their responsibility to provide a safe working environment. The review underscores the importance of developing robust infection control measures and ensuring the continuous supply of PPE to safeguard the health and well-being of healthcare workers. Patient autonomy and consent were also critical concerns during the pandemic. The urgency of care for critically ill COVID-19 patients, combined with isolation protocols that restricted family involvement, made it challenging to uphold patients' decision-making rights. The review explores how informed consent processes were affected by the rapid progression of illness and the necessity for immediate medical interventions, often with limited patient or family input. This issue further underscores the need for ethical guidelines that protect patient rights while ensuring timely and effective care. The psychological impact of the pandemic on nurses is another key focus of this review. Nurses faced not only physical exhaustion from long hours of work but also significant emotional strain from witnessing high mortality rates and making difficult ethical decisions. The review emphasizes the need for mental health resources, such as counseling and support groups, to help nurses cope with the emotional toll of their work. Addressing issues such as moral injury, compassion fatigue, and burnout is essential to maintaining a resilient nursing workforce. In conclusion, this review provides a comprehensive examination of the ethical challenges faced by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the critical need for clear ethical guidelines, transparent resource allocation frameworks, protective measures, and mental health support systems. The lessons learned from this pandemic are invaluable for shaping future responses to global health crises, ensuring that nurses and other healthcare professionals are better equipped to navigate the ethical complexities of emergency care.

The Role of Empathy in Social Work: Effects on Job Satisfaction and Client Success

This study examines the role of empathy in social work, focusing on its impact on job satisfaction and perceived client success. Using a sample of 150 social workers, we employed a Likert-scale questionnaire to measure empathy, job satisfaction, and client outcomes. The results revealed significant positive correlations between empathy and both job satisfaction (r = 0.72, p < 0.01) and perceived client success (r = 0.68, p < 0.01). These findings highlight the importance of empathy not only in fostering strong client relationships but also in enhancing the professional well-being of social workers. However, the study also emphasizes the need for balance, as excessive emotional involvement may lead to compassion fatigue. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies and objective measures of client success to further investigate these relationships.

Cross-cultural adaptation and reliability of the inventory of vicarious posttraumatic growth and research of its influencing factors: a cross-sectional study

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to translate the Vicarious Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (VPTGI) into Chinese and to assess its reliability and validity in Nurses, Additionally, it explored the correlations between vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG), Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) and demographic variables.MethodsThe Brislin translation model was used to translate the VPTGI into Chinese. Validity analysis involved exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and assessments of convergent validity, discriminant validity, and content validity. Reliability analysis included split-half reliability, internal consistency reliability, and test-retest reliability. Item analysis employed the Critical Ratio Decision Value (CR) method, item-total correlation method, and reliability change method. Single-factor analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between demographic variables and VPTG, while correlation analysis explored the association between STS and VPTG.ResultsThe Chinese version VPTGI demonstrated robust content validity (I-CVI: 0.83-1, S-CVI: 0.97), supported by EFA (KMO: 0.933) and significant Bartlett’s test (p < 0.001). Four factors explained 67.82% variance, CFA confirmed the model fit (χ2/df = 2.255, RMSEA = 0.079, IFI = 0.931, TLI = 0.914, CFI = 0.930, NFI = 0.882). The Chinese version VPTGI demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.951), with dimensions’ Cronbach’s α ranging from 0.806 to 0.912. Overall, nurses demonstrated a moderate to low level of VPTG and a severe level of STS. Furthermore, there was a significant negative correlation between STS and VPTG.ConclusionThe Chinese version of VPTGI demonstrated satisfactory reliability, validity, and factor structure, making it a reliable tool to assess VPTG in Chinese nurses. These findings underscore the importance of promoting VPTG and addressing STS among healthcare professionals. Further research in this area is warranted to better understand and support the psychological well-being of nurses.

The prevalence and related factors of compassion fatigue among nursing interns: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundCompassion fatigue is common among nurses and can lead to decreased motivation, impaired physical and mental health, and turnover. Nursing interns often face environments the same as professional nurses, yet their compassion fatigue has received less attention. Therefore, this study aims to assess the prevalence and related factors of compassion fatigue among nursing interns.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study involving 221 nursing interns in 2 tertiary-level hospitals in Shanghai, China. A general information questionnaire was formulated to investigate the demographic characteristics and internship-related factors of nursing interns. Compassion fatigue was assessed using the Professional Quality of Life Scale [compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout (BO), and secondary traumatic stress (STS)]. Psychological resilience, empathy, and perceived stress were evaluated by the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Jefferson Scales of Empathy, and Perceived Stress Scale, respectively. Personality traits were assessed using the extroversion/introversion subscale of the Eysenck Personality Inventory. Descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s correlation analysis, and multiple linear regressions were used to determine the predictors of the main research variables.ResultsThe prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe compassion fatigue in 221 nursing interns (mean age 21 years, 202 [91.4%] females) was 10.4%, 46.6%, and 43.0%, respectively, and their mean scores for CS, BO, and STS were 29.75 ± 6.39, 28.72 ± 4.78, and 28.51 ± 7.51, respectively. Psychological resilience and empathy were the strongest protective factors for CS and BO, respectively (p < 0.001), and the number of night shifts monthly was the most significant positive independent predictor of STS (p = 0.001). Additionally, male gender negatively predicted CS (p = 0.009). Younger age and extended daily working hours were associated with elevated levels of both BO and STS (p < 0.05). Clinical nursing teachers with intermediate or senior titles, as well as departments of pediatrics and obstetrics had a positive effect on STS (p < 0.05), while internship time had a negative effect on STS (p = 0.005). Furthermore, the variables of perceived stress, personality traits, and choice of nursing profession did not exhibit statistical significance in the multivariate analysis. Related factors predicted 14.2%, 26.2%, and 23.9% of the variance in the model of CS, BO and STS, respectively (all P < 0.001).ConclusionThe compassion fatigue of nursing interns was more serious, especially for nursing interns who were male and younger, and who had shorter internship time, departments of pediatrics and obstetrics, and clinical nursing teachers with intermediate or senior titles. Nursing educators can improve the psychological resilience and empathy of nursing interns by offering relevant psychological courses according to the different stages of internship, as well as rationalizing their daily working hours and the frequency of night shifts to improve the compassion fatigue of nursing interns.Registration NumberChiCTR2400081968.

Building Resilience during Compassion Fatigue: Autoethnographic Accounts of College Students and Faculty

Compassion fatigue (CF) is a well-researched topic in the fields of mental health and nursing. However, studies on CF in the fields of primary, secondary, and higher education are very recent and scant. Compassion fatigue (CF) can be defined as the empathic strain or general exhaustion experienced by helping professionals such as psychotherapists, nurses, social workers, healthcare workers, family caregivers, and elderly caregivers. In this paper, utilizing the Double ABC-X Stress Model, we explored the antecedents, experiences, and consequences of compassion fatigue among college students and professionals who have previous personal experiences with stress and trauma, work with children and families, and work in higher education to prepare professionals to work in such fields. This study uses an autoethnographic approach, where the five authors of the study were also the participants. Utilizing the lifespan and ecological perspectives, we examined the symptoms preceding compassion fatigue and preventative strategies, as well as risk factors and protective factors. This study covers a breadth of compassion fatigue, from predisposition to onset and recovery, and considers alternative strategies for coping, including creating meaning from difficult experiences.