An investigation into compassion fatigue and self-compassion in acute medical care hospital nurses: a mixed methods study

Article highlight:

An investigation into compassion fatigue and self-compassion in acute medical care hospital nurses: a mixed methods study:

Abstract

Background

In the acute medical care hospital setting, nursing the sick and dying is both physically and emotionally demanding, making acute medical care hospital nurses more vulnerable to Compassion Fatigue (CF) or Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS). If not addressed in its earliest stages, CF can adversely change the caregiver’s ability to provide compassionate care. It has been shown that Self-Compassion (SC) can be beneficial for the caregiver, with corresponding benefits for the individual needing care. However, the relationship of this attribute to CF in the acute medical care hospital nursing setting has not been intensively studied. This study explores the environmental and psychosocial factors affecting the prevalence and levels of CF in acute medical care hospital nursing staff and whether SC can be used as a coping strategy that enables nurses to mitigate the prevalence and levels of CF.

See Full Article at: Journal of Compassionate Health Care