Stress Reduction Techniques Research Articles

Nurse-to-nurse horizontal violence during the covid-19 pandemic and its impact on turnover intention: A cross-sectional study.

Nurse-to-nurse (N2N) horizontal violence has been documented among the main determinants of nurses' turnover intention. Even with its utmost importance, inadequate attention has been thus far drawn to the way crisis-induced pressure added to work environments, such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, can impact horizontal violence, and then give rise to turnover intention. The present study was to investigate the relationship between N2N horizontal violence along with its dimensions and turnover intention among clinical nurses. A cross-sectional survey was conducted utilizing the Turnover Intention Questionnaire (TIQ), developed by Kim et al. (2007), and the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R; Einarsen, Hoel, & Notelaers, 2009). The participants, recruited by random sampling, included 295 clinical nurses working in referral hospitals for COVID-19. The data were also analysed using the SPSS software package (ver. 19), via descriptive and inferential statistics, Pearson correlation test and multiple linear regression. The study participants obtained the mean scores of 52.50 ± 11.85 and 45.38 ± 13.24 for turnover intention and horizontal violence, respectively. Among the dimensions of horizontal violence, the highest value belonged to "work-related bullying," with the mean score of 51.04 ± 15.23, and the lowest was associated with the "physically intimidating bullying" dimension, with the mean value of 15.90 ± 5.96. The Pearson correlation test results correspondingly showed that turnover intention was positively correlated with work-related bullying (r=0.73), person-oriented bullying (r=0.72), physically intimidating bullying (r=0.53) and overall horizontal violence (r=0.74). The regression analysis outcomes additionally demonstrated that the work-related and person-oriented bullying dimensions of N2N horizontal violence could predict turnover intention in nurses (F=184.66, p < 0.001). The study findings help nursing managers and policymakers to immediately formulate sound measures and guidelines to prevent or at least manage the problems, viz., N2N horizontal violence and turnover intention. These measures can be thus in the form of training programs focused on communication, stress reduction and conflict resolution techniques, especially during crises, together with obvious procedures for reporting the incidents of horizontal violence.

Assessing the Unmet Needs of Spanish Speaking Family Caregivers of Persons Living with Dementia in the Greater Boston Area

AbstractBackgroundSpanish‐speaking family caregivers of persons living with dementia (PLD) have limited resources in Spanish to aid in psychological coping with caregiver burden. They often have difficulty attending in‐person training due to barriers such as transportation costs, identifying substitute care, and ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic containment measures. There are few studies identifying Spanish language caregiver unique needs and preferences regarding desired caregiving skills and stress‐reduction interventions. In this study, we sought to identify the unmet needs of Spanish‐speaking family caregivers of PLD in the greater Boston area, as well as their preferences for virtual intervention frequency and duration.MethodsWe conducted two virtual focus groups with twelve Spanish language family caregivers of PLD (ages 37 to 87 years) recruited from the greater Boston area. Participants were asked semi‐structured questions regarding their unmet needs for caregiver skills training and stress reduction. We employed an inductive and deductive driven mixed method analytic approach. A taxonomy was created to organize results based on participant responses.ResultsThree major thematic clusters emerged. First, caregivers noted a desire to develop skills for managing stress, emotional reactivity, frustration, and grief. Second, there was an expressed need for education regarding disease‐specific knowledge such as stages of dementia, common manifestations, management of challenging symptoms and communication strategies with the PLD; how to navigate the health care system; and finding additional resources for care in the community. Third, there was an interest in learning about interventions for the PLD, such as specific activities to help keep them engaged and active. A particular interest was expressed in any interventions that might slow disease progression. Regarding frequency and duration for virtual intervention, caregivers most commonly preferred weekly sessions for 6‐10 weeks.ConclusionsUnmet needs of Spanish language family caregivers of PLD in the greater Boston area include education regarding disease‐specific symptoms and their management, and resources to enhance well‐being both in the caregiver and the PLD. Based on these results, we will develop a comprehensive virtual therapeutic intervention incorporating stress reduction techniques to facilitate emotion regulation, caregiver skills training, psychoeducation regarding dementia and caregiver resources, and healthful activities for the PLD.

Culturally and linguistically appropriate home visit intervention for underserved dementia family caregivers: Preliminary results from a randomized controlled trial

AbstractBackgroundFamily caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD) suffer from stress and negative health outcomes related to round‐the‐clock caregiving responsibilities. Often caregivers lack awareness of community resources. Community Health Workers (CHW) have proven effective in educating families and can implement interventions that aim to reduce the impact of stress on their health. To alleviate caregiver burden among dementia family caregivers, this study has CHWs’ visit family caregivers’ homes offering education, stress reduction, and compassionate support/listening.MethodsParticipants were recruited from Southern California via non‐profit organizations, senior centers, and adult day services. Participants were randomly assigned to CHW home‐visit intervention group (IG) or control group (CG) with resource information only. The intervention includes stress reduction techniques of mindful breathing and compassionate support/listening, (2) education on dementia caregiving skills to handle difficult behaviors of PWD, and (3) resource information. The 3‐month intervention is given by bilingual CHWs who speak English, Spanish, Vietnamese, or Korean. A linear mixed model was used to compare differences from baseline to 3‐month on each outcome (caregiver burden, PWD behaviors ‐ memory, distress, disruption) between IG and CG. Exit interviews were conducted for IG participants.Results26 family caregivers participated in the study (12 Korean, 9 Vietnamese, 3 Hispanic, 2 Caucasian); 14 spouses (54%), 12 off‐spring (46%); 18 females (69%), age from 34 to 89 (mean = 66.8 sd = 12.6). IG Participants showed a significant decrease in caregiving burden compared to CG (coefficient = ‐7.68, p = .0041). PWD behaviors were significantly decreased from baseline to 3 months but no difference by group. However, there was a trend for improvement of PWD’s memory problems in the IG compared to the CG (coefficient = ‐2.43, p = .056). Language specific exit interviews showed that educational materials were valuable and communication skills training was helpful as was CHW home visits. Most participants reported the benefit of mindful breathing and practiced it when overwhelmed or having sleep problems. The overall satisfaction of the intervention was high (mean = 4.4 of 5). Recruitment is on‐going but challenging during the pandemic.ConclusionPreliminary results showed the CHW led home‐visit intervention helped improve burden and PWD memory problems and was acceptable by the family caregivers of PWD.

Be(com)ing other-oriented: Mindfulness-trained leaders’ experiences of their enhanced social awareness

The potential significance of mindfulness for social relations at work has been recognized in the recent management literature, yet a thorough investigation has been lacking into how mindfulness may help leaders tap into their other-orientation. In this study, we examine whether and how mindfulness training contributes to the development of leaders’ social awareness by studying the experiences of 62 leaders who participated in an 8-week-long mindfulness training program. Our study contributes to the literature on management learning and mindfulness in leadership in three ways. First, it identifies how the leaders who participated in mindfulness training see themselves developing toward becoming more socially aware in situations involving followers across the three interlinked domains of human functioning—the cognitive, affective, and behavioral—clarifying mindfulness as an interpersonal phenomenon. Second, it highlights mindfulness as a value-based developmental practice instead of merely a personal stress reduction and attention-enhancement technique. Third, it proposes mindfulness training as a viable approach to enhance leaders’ social awareness through a combination of a formal program and continuous self-development, departing from the views of mindfulness as a “quick fix.” It also provides a conceptual framework that illustrates the pathway with the potential to build social leadership capacity.

Perceived stress as a predictor of eating behavior during the 3-year PREVIEW lifestyle intervention

BackgroundTo better support participants to achieve long-lasting results within interventions aiming for weight loss and maintenance, more information is needed about the maintenance of behavioral changes. Therefore, we examined whether perceived stress predicts the maintenance of changes in eating behavior (flexible and rigid restraint of eating, disinhibition, and hunger).MethodsThe present study was a secondary analysis of the PREVIEW intervention including participants with overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) at baseline and high risk of type 2 diabetes (n = 1311). Intervention included a 2-month low-energy diet phase and a 34-month subsequent weight maintenance phase. The first 6 months were considered an active behavior change stage and the remaining 2.5 years were considered a behavior maintenance stage. Eating behavior was measured using the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire and stress using the Perceived Stress Scale. The associations between stress and eating behavior were analyzed using linear mixed effects models for repeated measurements.ResultsPerceived stress measured after the active behavior change stage (at 6 months) did not predict changes in eating behavior during the behavior maintenance stage. However, frequent high stress during this period was associated with greater lapse of improved flexible restraint (p = 0.026). The mean (SD) change in flexible restraint from 6 to 36 months was −1.1 (2.1) in participants with frequent stress and −0.7 (1.8) in participants without frequent stress (Cohen’s ds (95% CI) = 0.24 (0.04–0.43)). Higher perceived stress at 6 months was associated with less flexible restraint and more disinhibition and hunger throughout the behavior maintenance stage (all p < 0.001).ConclusionsPerceived stress was associated with features of eating behavior that may impair successful weight loss maintenance. Future interventions should investigate, whether incorporating stress reduction techniques results in more effective treatment, particularly for participants experiencing a high stress level.

An Overview of Mindfulness-Oriented Addiction and Pain Recovery.

There is evidence that mindfulness-based interventions are effective as stress-reduction techniques in people with various stressor-related disorders. Research also shows overall improvement in mental health well-being in practitioners of mindfulness. However, there is limited literature probing the potential negative impacts of mindfulness practice. Relapse is a major challenge in substance use disorders (SUDs), particularly for people with chronic pain. There is an overlap between SUDs and chronic pain, which share common pathophysiological pathways that could contribute to poor pain control and mental instability. In this report, we discuss the possible effects of mindfulness on specified aspects of substance craving and chronic pain perception. We propose future directions for research in mindfulness practices to maximize the potential for relapse prevention and pain control.

Review of Under-Recognized Adjunctive Therapies for Cancer.

Simple SummaryThis review presents cancer and primary care providers with an overview of underappreciated adjunctive measures that may improve their patients’ quality of life and survival. This is not a comprehensive review but adjunctive recommendations which may be easily addressed by the provider and acceptable to the cancer patient. These include exercise, diet, stress-reduction techniques, recognition and management of sleep problems, advice on smoking cessation, and use of selective nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals as adjuvants. In addition, patients may be more compliant if suggestions and referrals are made by their trusted providers.Patients and providers may not be aware that several adjunctive measures can significantly improve the quality of life, response to treatment, and possibly outcomes for cancer patients. This manuscript presents a review of practical under-recognized adjunctive therapies that are effective including exercise; stress-reduction techniques such as mindfulness, massage, yoga, Tai Chi, breathing exercises; importance of sleep quality; diet modifications such as calorie restriction at the time of chemotherapy and avoidance of high carbohydrate foods; supplements such as aspirin, green tea, turmeric, and melatonin; and repurposed prescription medications such as metformin and statins. Each recommendation should be tailored to the individual patient to assure no contraindications.

Effectiveness of Organized Teaching Programme on Knowledge regarding Stress and Stress Reduction Techniques among Adolescent Students of Green Valley Educational Institute Srinagar, (J and K)

Effectiveness of Organized Teaching Programme on Knowledge regarding Stress and Stress Reduction Techniques among Adolescent Students of Green Valley Educational Institute Srinagar, (J and K)

Automated stress detection using mobile application and wearable sensors improves symptoms of mental health disorders in military personnel.

Leading causes in global health-related burden include stress, depression, anger, fatigue, insomnia, substance abuse, and increased suicidality. While all individuals are at risk, certain career fields such as military service are at an elevated risk. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is highly effective at treating mental health disorders but suffers from low compliance and high dropout rates in military environments. The current study conducted a randomized controlled trial with military personnel to assess outcomes for an asymptomatic group (n = 10) not receiving mental health treatment, a symptomatic group (n = 10) using a mHealth application capable of monitoring physiological stress via a commercial wearable alerting users to the presence of stress, guiding them through stress reduction techniques, and communicating information to providers, and a symptomatic control group (n = 10) of military personnel undergoing CBT. Fifty percent of symptomatic controls dropped out of CBT early and the group maintained baseline symptoms. In contrast, those who used the mHealth application completed therapy and showed a significant reduction in symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and anger. The results from this study demonstrate the feasibility of pairing data-driven mobile applications with CBT in vulnerable populations, leading to an improvement in therapy compliance and a reduction in symptoms compared to CBT treatment alone. Future work is focused on the inclusion of passive sensing modalities and the integration of additional data sources to provide better insights and inform clinical decisions to improve personalized support.

Psychocosmetology - the opportunity to reduce stress in a beauty salon with the use of music therapy, massage, yoga and meditation

Excessive, uncontrolled stress adversely affects the human body. The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to increased stress levels in society. The use of stress reduction techniques, proposed by psychocosmetology, such as massage, music therapy, yoga, and meditation, in beauty salons can bring many benefits including stress release. The aim of this article was the analyze the respondent’s opinions about stress reduction in beauty salons by performing psychocosmetology. In addition, the relationship between appearance and well-being was also examined. The results of the study confirmed the influence of using stress reduction methods on the client’s well-being, as well as the mutual influence of appearance and comfort.

Parenting stress predicts longitudinal change in parental involvement among mothers living with HIV.

Mothers living with HIV (MLH) face unique challenges that may compound parenting stress and impede effective parenting practices. Among the general population, research has demonstrated bidirectional longitudinal relations between parenting stress and parenting practices; yet, despite the additional stressors faced by MLH, these processes have not been examined longitudinally in this population. Utilizing the process model of parenting, the present study examined the longitudinal relations between parenting stress and parental involvement among a sample of MLH with children aged 6-14 years (N = 174). MLH completed self-report measures on their parenting stress and parental involvement at four timepoints spanning 15 months. Latent change score modeling was employed to examine how changes in parenting stress and changes in parental involvement were related across time. Results revealed that increases in parenting stress-specifically distress within the parental role-predicted subsequent decreases in parental involvement. The effects were unidirectional; parental involvement did not predict subsequent changes in parenting stress. Other aspects of parenting stress (perceptions of dysfunctional parent-child interactions and perceptions of the child's temperament as difficult) did not have significant longitudinal associations with changes in parental involvement. Results highlight the central role of parenting stress for MLH as a potential driving factor of parenting quality. Beyond supporting the use of effective parenting skills, clinical prevention and intervention efforts with families affected by HIV should also incorporate stress reduction techniques to increase MLH's capacity for active parental involvement and thereby support positive outcomes for their children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Neural changes after Emotional Freedom Techniques treatment for chronic pain sufferers

This clinical trial investigated the effect of an Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) intervention on brain activation in chronic pain sufferers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). EFT is a brief stress reduction technique which combines stating a cognitive statement with somatic tapping on acupressure points. Twenty-four adults were allocated to a six-week online group EFT treatment and underwent resting-state fMRI pre and post the intervention. A repeated measures MANOVA indicated significant differences in the levels of pain severity (−21%), pain interference (−26%), quality of life (+7%), somatic symptoms (−28%), depression (−13.5%), anxiety (−37.1%), happiness (+17%), and satisfaction with life (+8.8%) from pre-to post-test. Cohen's effect sizes ranged from small (0.2) to large (0.75) values suggesting significance for the intervention. fMRI analysis showed post-EFT treatment significantly decreased connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex (a pain modulating area) and bilateral grey matter areas in the posterior cingulate cortex and thalamus, both areas being related to modulating and catastrophizing of pain. There were no brain areas that showed significantly increased connectivity post-EFT treatment. Coupled with the psychological measures the findings support the effects of the EFT intervention in reducing chronic pain and its impacts. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

Psychotherapeutic interventions for burns patients and the potential use with Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis patients: A systematic integrative review.

The existing evidence demonstrates that survivors of SJS/TEN have reported long-lasting psychological effects of their condition. Burns patients experience similar psychological effects. It is important to look at ways to help allay the psychological complications of SJS/TEN. As there is an absence of evidence on SJS/TEN psychotherapeutic interventions, it was judged to be beneficial to determine the evidence underpinning psychotherapeutic interventions used with burns patients. The aim of this systematic integrative review was to synthesize the evidence relating to psychotherapeutic interventions used with adult burns patients and patients with SJS/TEN. The systematic review was guided by Whittemore and Knafl's integrative review process and the PRISMA guidelines. Nine databases were searched for English and French language papers published January 2008 to January 2021. The protocol for the review was registered with PROSPERO. Following a screening process, 17 studies were included in the review. Two themes were identified using content analysis, (i) Empirically supported psychotherapeutic treatments, (ii) Alternative psychotherapeutic treatments. This review revealed no evidence on specific psychotherapeutic interventions for patients with SJS/TEN. Some of the interventions used with burns patients, viz. relaxation therapy, hypnosis and cognitive behavioral therapy showed some significant benefits. However, the evidence for burns patients is mainly focused on pain and pain anxiety as outcomes. Following further research, some of the interventions deployed in burns patients may be applicable to SJS/TEN patients, particularly stress reduction techniques. In addition, the caring behaviours such as compassion, respect, and getting to know the patient as a person are important components to psychological care.

Following the Rhythm of the Heart: HeartMath Institute's Path to HRV Biofeedback.

This paper outlines the early history and contributions our laboratory, along with our close advisors and collaborators, has made to the field of heart rate variability and heart rate variability coherence biofeedback. In addition to the many health and wellness benefits of HRV feedback for facilitating skill acquisition of self-regulation techniques for stress reduction and performance enhancement, its applications for increasing social coherence and physiological synchronization among groups is also discussed. Future research directions and applications are also suggested.

Modifiable Resources and Resilience in Racially and Ethnically Diverse Older Women: Implications for Health Outcomes and Interventions.

Introduction: Resilience—which we define as the “ability to bounce back from stress”—can foster successful aging among older, racially and ethnically diverse women. This study investigated the association between psychological resilience in the Women’s Health Initiative Extension Study (WHI-ES) and three constructs defined by Staudinger’s 2015 model of resilience and aging: (1) perceived stress, (2) non-psychological resources, and (3) psychological resources. We further examined whether the relationship between resilience and key resources differed by race/ethnicity. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis on 77,395 women aged 62+ (4475 Black or African American; 69,448 non-Hispanic White; 1891 Hispanic/Latina; and 1581 Asian or Pacific Islanders) who enrolled in the WHI-ES, which was conducted in the United States. Participants completed a short version of the Brief Resilience Scale one-time in 2011. Guided by Staudinger’s model, we used linear regression analysis to examine the relationships between resilience and resources, adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, and stressful life events. To identify the most significant associations, we applied elastic net regularization to our linear regression models. Findings: On average, women who reported higher resilience were younger, had fewer stressful life events, and reported access to more resources. Black or African American women reported the highest resilience, followed by Hispanic/Latina, non-Hispanic White, and Asian or Pacific Islander women. The most important resilience-related resources were psychological, including control of beliefs, energy, personal growth, mild-to-no forgetfulness, and experiencing a sense of purpose. Race/ethnicity significantly modified the relationship between resilience and energy (overall interaction p = 0.0017). Conclusion: Increasing resilience among older women may require culturally informed stress reduction techniques and resource-building strategies, including empowerment to control the important things in life and exercises to boost energy levels.

Stress and Coping among Caregivers of Differently Able Children.

Caring differently able children can cause stress in the caregivers. They employ a variety of coping mechanisms to deal with stress. The aim of this study is to identify stress and different coping styles among caregivers of differently able children. A cross-sectional study was carried out in three organizations that accommodated differently abled children. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to recruit primary caregivers of children with developmental disabilities. This study examined caregiver stress and different coping styles by using the Parent Stress Scale and Brief COPE Inventory.Face-to-face interviews were used to collect data, which was then analyzed using SPSS. Among the total of 102 caregivers, mothers accounted for 60.8 percent, 57.8 percent child were boys whereas, 49 percent were the child with cerebral palsy. Total mean stress score was 57.17 ±8.808. High level of stress was reported by 58.8 percent of caregivers. Education and family income showed the statistically significant association with stress score P-value<0.05. Total mean coping score was 67.83 ±5.812. Caregivers' stress had significant positive correlation with different coping styles; active coping, denial, behavioral disengagement, humor, acceptance religion and self-blame (P-value<0.05). More than half of the caregivers had high level of stress. The most frequently used coping styles were self-distraction, acceptance and positive reframing. Caregivers' stress had significant positive correlation with different coping styles. Therefore, health professionals and service providers should focus on stress reduction and positive coping technique to help family adaptation.

Enhancing Pharmacy Faculty Well-Being and Productivity While Reducing Burnout

Objective To explore methods that pharmacy programs can use to redefine their work environment to reduce stress, improve well-being, and increase faculty productivity.Findings To demonstrate a culture of support, organizations should consider a five-fold approach to enhancing and maintaining faculty well-being, including optimizing faculty and staff support, establishing a faculty development and mentoring program, permitting flexibility in work schedules, improving productivity of meetings, and managing communication tools. Individuals can also take measures to improve their well-being, including controlling email, giving attention to faculty citizenship, implementing stress reduction and coping techniques, and maintaining boundaries between work and home.Summary This article discusses approaches that have been shown to reduce burnout and provides strategies organizations and individuals can implement to improve productivity and faculty well-being. While certain areas, such as faculty wellness and productivity, have been well-studied in the pharmacy and health professions literature, significant gaps were identified in other areas, including alternate work arrangements. In some cases, data from the business sector can be extrapolated to pharmacy education; however, inferences from effective corporate strategies may not be transferable to the culture and expectations of academia. While there is significant overlap between institutional and individual strategies, a culture of communication, collaboration, support, and citizenship is foundational. There is no single strategy that will work for everyone, and flexibility is important to develop an individualized approach.

The effects of psychological interventions on menopausal hot flashes: A systematic review.

BackgroundMenopause is a normal physiological phenomenon, closely identified with a great deal of physical-psychological symptoms, including hot flashes (HFs) with a prevalence rate of 20-80%. Various pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions have been thus far practiced to reduce this common symptom of the menopausal transition.ObjectiveThis systematic review was conducted to evaluate the effects of psychological interventions on menopausal HFs.Materials and MethodsIn this review, the databases of Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, the Cochrane Library, and Scientific Information Database were searched applying the Boolean searching operators as well as the keywords of `hot flashes', `menopause', `psychological intervention', and `vasomotor symptoms'. Accordingly, a total number of 20,847 articles published from January 2000 to June 2019 were retrieved. After excluding the duplicate and irrelevant ones, the risk of bias of 19 clinical or quasi-experimental clinical trials was assessed using the Cochrane collaboration tool.ResultsThe interventions implemented in the studies on menopausal HFs included cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, hypnotherapy, and relaxation techniques. All of the articles reported improvements in HFs in postmenopausal women, except for 4 studies.ConclusionBased on the findings of this systematic review, psychological interventions, especially cognitive behavioral therapy and relaxation techniques, are potentially effective for vasomotor symptoms and HFs in healthy postmenopausal women, although the quality of published research on this topic is sometimes questionable.

The Effect of Lifestyle Changes on Disease Severity and Quality of Life in Patients with Plaque Psoriasis: A Narrative Review.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of lifestyle changes on the severity of psoriasis and the quality of life in patients with psoriasis.MethodsFor this narrative review, PubMed, Embase and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for lifestyle intervention studies with an intervention duration of at least 12 weeks.ResultsThirty-four intervention studies were included. Most studies performed interventions in the diet of patients with psoriasis (n=9), or added supplements to the diet (n=18). Three studies comprised relaxation techniques and four studies combined relaxation or stress-reducing techniques with an educational program or exercise. No interventional studies were carried out regarding smoking, alcohol and sleep. Especially dietary and relaxation interventions showed promising results with respect to psoriasis severity and dermatology-related QoL, respectively. Regarding dietary supplements, the three largest studies investigating fish oil or vitamin D did not show significant effects.ConclusionThere is some evidence that dietary and relaxation interventions could be promising with respect to psoriasis severity and dermatology-related QoL, respectively. Furthermore, our review identified important gaps in psoriasis lifestyle research regarding study design and reporting of outcomes.

Prevalence and factors associated with compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, burnout in health professionals.

Constant exposure of health professionals to the pain and suffering of patients can adversely affect their emotional wellbeing. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence and the factors affecting the levels of secondary traumatic stress/compassion fatigue (STS/CF), burnout (BO) and compassion satisfaction (CS) of health professionals working in adult and paediatric Intensive Care Units (ICU) as well as in departments treating patients with serious illness in five hospitals in Crete. A descriptive cross-sectional survey with the use of the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL-CSF-R-IV) questionnaire. We enrolled medical, nursing and support staff working in the adult and paediatric ICU, emergency, oncology, haematology and neurosurgical departments, haemodialysis unit and operating theatre. 598 health professionals completed the questionnaire (response rate 73.2%). Significantly increased levels of STS/CF were observed in non - ICU as compared to ICU staff (p=.009) females compared to males (p < .001), those who have previously experienced a traumatic event (p < .004), nurses and support staff compared to doctors (p=.007 and p=.028 respectively), and people not working in a department by choice (p < .001). CS was higher for older professionals, personnel subjected to stress reduction techniques (p < .019) and professionals working with children or mixed adults and children population (p=.009). Rolling schedule and bad working conditions negatively affected CS (p=.02, p=.001). Increased BO levels were associated with younger age (p=.029) and showed a positive correlation with STS/CF (r=.356, p < .001). STS/CF is common in health professionals regardless of their profession, working department or hospital level. Non-ICU staff displayed higher STS/CF levels. Working in a department by choice ameliorates CS, BO and STS/CF. Health professionals need to be informed about the risks of projecting patients' suffering on themselves. Hospital managers and department heads are responsible to provide appropriate support.