Aims
A meta‐analysis was conducted of the prevalence rates of compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue and burnout to identify the factors influencing these rates.
Background
The extents of ...compassion fatigue and burnout adversely affect nursing efficiency. However, the reported prevalence rates vary considerably.
Methods
Data were acquired from electronic databases. Random effects meta‐analyses were performed to obtain pooled estimates of the prevalence rates of compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue and burnout and their respective instrumental scores. Meta‐regression analyses were performed to identify factors influencing these rates.
Results
Data from 21 studies were used for the meta‐analysis. The prevalence rates of compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue and burnout were 47.55%, 52.55% and 51.98%, respectively. The possession of Bachelor's or Master's degrees by the nurses was significantly inversely associated with the percent prevalence of compassion fatigue (coefficient: −1.187) and burnout (coefficient: −0.810). The compassion fatigue score was also significantly inversely associated with nursing status as registered or licensed practical nurse (coefficient: −0.135).
Conclusion
In nursing, the prevalence rates of compassion fatigue and burnout are high. Better education and training may have a moderating effect on compassion fatigue and burnout and could improve the quality of life of nurses.
Background:
Compassion fatigue is recognized as impacting the health and effectiveness of healthcare providers, and consequently, patient care. Compassion fatigue is distinct from “burnout.” Reliable ...measurement tools, such as the Professional Quality of Life scale, have been developed to measure the prevalence, and predict risk of compassion fatigue. This study reviews the prevalence of compassion fatigue among healthcare practitioners, and relationships to demographic variables.
Methods:
A systematic review was conducted using key words in MEDLINE, PubMed, and Ovid databases. Data were extracted from a total of 71 articles meeting inclusion criteria, from studies measuring compassion fatigue in healthcare providers using a validated instrument. Quantitative and qualitative data were extracted and compiled by three independent reviewers into an evidence table that included basic study characteristics, study strength and quality determination, measurements of compassion fatigue, and general findings. Meta-analysis, where data allowed, was stratified by Professional Quality of Life version, heterogeneity was quantified, and pooled means were reported with 95% confidence interval. A table of major study characteristics and results was created.
Ethical consideration:
This paper contains no primary data obtained directly from research participants. Data obtained from previously published resources have been acknowledged within references. Psychological distress, particularly compassion fatigue, can be insidious, no health profession is immune, and may significantly impact the ability to provide care.
Results:
A total of 71 studies were included. Compassion fatigue was reported across all practitioner groups studied. Relationships to most demographic variables such as years of experience and specialty were either not statistically significant or unclear. Variability in reporting of Professional Quality of Life results was found.
Interpretation:
Compassion fatigue exists across diverse practitioner groups. Prevalence is highly variable, and its relationship with demographic, personal, and/or professional variables is inconsistent. Questions are raised about how to mitigate compassion fatigue.
•The vicarious traumatization scores for front-line nurses were significantly lower than those of non-front-line nurses;•The vicarious traumatization scores for the general public were significantly ...higher than those of front-line nurses.•Strategies that aim to prevent and treat vicarious traumatization in medical staff and general public are necessary.
Since December 2019, more than 79,000 people have been diagnosed with infection of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). A large number of medical staff was sent to Wuhan city and Hubei province to aid COVID-19 control. Psychological stress, especially vicarious traumatization caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, should not be ignored. To address this concern, the study employed a total of 214 general public and 526 nurses (i.e., 234 front-line nurses and 292 non-front-line nurses) to evaluate vicarious traumatization scores via a mobile app-based questionnaire. Front-line nurses are engaged in the process of providing care for patients with COVID-19. The results showed that the vicarious traumatization scores for front-line nurses including scores for physiological and psychological responses, were significantly lower than those of non-front-line nurses (P < 0.001). Interestingly, the vicarious traumatization scores of the general public were significantly higher than those of the front-line nurses (P < 0.001); however, no statistical difference was observed compared to the scores of non-front-line nurses (P > 0.05). Therefore, increased attention should be paid to the psychological problems of the medical staff, especially non-front-line nurses, and general public under the situation of the spread and control of COVID-19. Early strategies that aim to prevent and treat vicarious traumatization in medical staff and general public are extremely necessary.
Compassion fatigue has emerged as a detrimental consequence of experiencing work-related stress among psychiatric nurses, and affected the job performance, emotional and physical health of ...psychiatric nurses. However, researches on Chinese psychiatric nurses' compassion fatigue are dearth. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the prevalence and factors of compassion fatigue among Chinese psychiatric nurses.All participants completed the demographic questionnaire and the Chinese version of Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL-CN). One-way ANOVA, t-tests, Levene test and multiple linear regression analysis were conducted to evaluate factors associated with compassion fatigue.A total of 352 psychiatric nurses in 9 psychiatric hospitals from the Chengdu, Wuhan, and Hefei were surveyed. The mean scores of compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress were 32.59 ± 7.124, 26.92 ± 6.003 and 25.97 ± 5.365, respectively. Four variables of job satisfaction, exercise, had children, and age range from 36 to 50 years explained 30.7% of the variance in compassion satisfaction. Job satisfaction, sleeping quality, and marital status accounted for 40.4% variables in burnout. Furthermore, job satisfaction, average sleeping quality, and years of nursing experience remained significantly associated with secondary trauma stress, explaining 10.9% of the variance.Compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress among Chinese psychiatric nurses were at the level of moderate. The higher job satisfaction, healthy lifestyle (high sleep quality and regular exercise), and family support (children, stable and harmonious marital status) positively influenced compassion satisfaction and negatively associated with burnout or secondary traumatic stress.
Compassion fatigue in nurses: A metasynthesis Nolte, Anna GW; Downing, Charlene; Temane, Annie ...
Journal of clinical nursing,
December 2017, Volume:
26, Issue:
23-24
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Aims and objectives
To interpret the body of qualitative work focusing on compassion fatigue to distil a common understanding that could then be applied to nursing care.
Background
Complex demands ...place extraordinary stress on nurses struggling to work in overburdened healthcare systems. The result can be the inability to care well for others, leading to compassion fatigue, burnout and increased numbers leaving the profession. Metasynthesis offers a means of more fully illuminating compassion fatigue and further understanding of practices which might reduce its negative consequences.
Design
Metasynthesis.
Method
As a method designed to facilitate knowledge development, metasynthesis allowed for integration of qualitative study findings conducted between 1992–2016 using defined search terms. Six databases were searched for articles published in English. Nine papers met the criteria for review and metasynthesis was conducted using the meta‐ethnographic approach detailed by Noblit and Hare.
Results
Four themes related to compassion fatigue were found by consensus discussion. The themes included: physical (“just plain worn out”) and emotional symptoms (“walking on a tightrope”), triggering factors (“an unbearable weight on shoulders” and “alone in a crowded room”), and measures to overcome/prevent (“who has my back?”).
Conclusions
Compassion fatigue is a concept of documented relevance to those in nursing and represents a basic inability to nurture others and engenders a temporal component. Synthesis of studies provides evidence of the veracity of the concept for application to clinical practice and research related to nursing care.
Relevance to clinical practice
Findings provide insight into the clinical milieu needed to prevent compassion fatigue. A theoretical model is presented which can be used to guide future research, as well as the creation of clinical practice policies which might mitigate the development of compassion fatigue and its potential consequences.
Aims and objectives
To evaluate compassion fatigue (CF), burnout (BO), compassion satisfaction (CS) and perceived stress in healthcare professionals during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) ...health crisis in Spain.
Background
Spain has been one of the countries hardest hit by the health crisis caused by the COVID‐19 pandemic. Healthcare professionals have had to deal with traumatic and complex situations in the work context. In these particularly stressful situations, many professionals may develop CF or BO, which puts them at risk for mental health problems.
Design
Cross‐sectional online survey.
Methods
A total of 506 healthcare professionals (physicians and nurses) who were working in healthcare centres during the COVID‐19 pandemic participated. CF, CS and BO were assessed with the Professional Quality of Life Questionnaire, and perceived stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale‐14. Socio‐demographic and occupational variables were also analysed. Data were collected during the period of the highest incidence of cases and highest mortality rates due to COVID‐19 in Spain. This article adheres to the STROBE guidelines for the reporting of observational studies.
Results
Physicians had higher CF and BO scores, while nurses had higher CS scores. Perceived stress scores were similar in both occupations. Professionals working in specific COVID‐19 units and in emergency departments had higher CF and BO scores, while levels of CS and perceived stress were similar regardless of the workplace.
Relevance to clinical practice
Despite the health crisis situation and its implications for healthcare professionals, the levels of CF and BO have remained moderate/high. However, CS seems to be increasing, especially among nurses, possibly due to their motivation to relieve suffering and due to their perceived social recognition. It is necessary to implement interventions that help improve CS and prevent BO and CF among professionals in the long term.
The purpose of this review was to define compassion fatigue in the context of palliative care nursing. Compassion fatigue was first introduced as a description for nursing burnout; however, it was ...not fully described. An initial concept analysis within nursing placed it in terms of a psychological model for secondary traumatic stress disorder, with continual revisions of this application. Palliative care nurses are routinely exposed to pain, trauma, and the suffering they witness by nature of ongoing symptom management and end-of-life care delivery; however, the focus of care is on healthy end-of-life management rather than preservation of life. The literature was reviewed to provide clarification of compassion fatigue for palliative care nurses to assist in future identification and direction in the profession. CINAHL, EBSCO, Journals@Ovid, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases were queried for peer-reviewed literature, and dictionaries were examined for subject-specific definitions. The method that was used was a concept analysis in the tradition of Walker and Avant. A concept definition was proposed for the discipline of palliative care nursing. Identification of compassion fatigue for this profession helps facilitate the recognition of symptoms for a group that deals with patient suffering on a regular basis.
Compassion fatigue is defined as a detrimental consequence of experiencing work-related stress among nurses, which can affect the job performance and harm emotional and physical health. The high risk ...of compassion fatigue among nurses may be even more severe in China. Although several studies have explored the prevalence and factors of compassion fatigue among Chinese nurses, most data derived merely from the specialty units of the hospital or limited samples, and there is a large heterogeneity among studies. Thus, it is indispensable to systematically summarize the risk factors and prevalence of compassion fatigue among clinical nurse in China.
Two reviewers will independently conduct comprehensively searches in 9 electronic databases including PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), EMBASE, Web of science, MEDLINE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang and Chinese Biological Medical Database (CBM) with no search date restriction. Cross-sectional and prospective cohort studies that described the prevalence and factors of Chinese nurses compassion fatigue will be eligible for inclusion. The risk of bias and methodological quality of individual study will be assessed using an adapted quality assessment tool from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Stata 16.0 software will be used for meta-analysis.
The primary outcome will be the prevalence of 3 dimension of compassion fatigue in Chinese nurses. The secondary outcomes will be comparisons of compassion fatigue scores among Chinese nurse of different education background, marital status, employment forms and professional titles.
This overview will contribute to reveal the prevalence and influencing factors in compassion fatigue among Chinese nurses and provide a scientific evidence for the prediction and prevention in compassion fatigue.
The registration DOI is 10.17605/OSF.IO/V34X6.
Compassion fatigue (CF) is stress resulting from exposure to a traumatized individual. CF has been described as the convergence of secondary traumatic stress (STS) and cumulative burnout (BO), a ...state of physical and mental exhaustion caused by a depleted ability to cope with one's everyday environment. Professionals regularly exposed to the traumatic experiences of the people they service, such as healthcare, emergency and community service workers, are particularly susceptible to developing CF. This can impact standards of patient care, relationships with colleagues, or lead to more serious mental health conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety or depression. A systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions to reduce CF in healthcare, emergency and community service workers was conducted. Thirteen relevant studies were identified, the majority of which were conducted on nurses (n = 10). Three included studies focused on community service workers (social workers, disability sector workers), while no studies targeting emergency service workers were identified. Seven studies reported a significant difference post-intervention in BO (n = 4) or STS (n = 3). This review revealed that evidence of the effectiveness of CF interventions in at-risk health and social care professions is relatively recent. Therefore, we recommend more research to determine how best to protect vulnerable workers at work to prevent not only CF, but also the health and economic consequences related to the ensuing, and more disabling, physical and mental health outcomes.
PDF
