The effect of spiritual well-being on compassion fatigue among intensive care nurses: A descriptive study

Analysis of Compassion Fatigue Among Psychiatric Nurses and Its Effect on Spiritual and Competent Care

BACKGROUND

Psychiatric nurses are exposed to patients experiencing severe emotional, psychological and behavioural challenges, which can lead to diminished empathy, compassion and overall well-being. Compassion fatigue, primarily work-related burnout, stems explicitly from the emotional strain of caregiving. The increasing prevalence of compassion fatigue among psychiatric nurses is a significant issue that threatens their ability to deliver competent and compassionate care.

AIM

This study seeks to explore the relationship between compassion fatigue, spiritual care and the competence of psychiatric nurses, emphasising the effect of compassion fatigue on spiritual and competent care.

METHOD

This study employed a cross-sectional and correlational design on 322 psychiatric nurses from four hospitals in Alexandria, Sohag, Portsaid and Cairo, selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected through anonymous self-administered questionnaires distributed from March to May 2024. The instruments used included the Compassion Fatigue Self-Test (CFST) scale, the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS), the Self-Liking and Competence Scale-Revised Version (SLCS-R) and a demographic questionnaire.

FINDINGS

The study's findings revealed significant relationships between compassion fatigue, spirituality, spiritual care and competence among psychiatric nurses. Nurses reported a mean compassion fatigue score of 128.22, and the analyses showed that compassion fatigue negatively correlated with both spirituality and spiritual care (r = -0.411, p < 0.001) and competence (r = -0.196, p < 0.001). Additionally, spirituality and spiritual care were positively correlated with competence (r = 0.357, p < 0.001). Also, linear regression analyses indicated that compassion fatigue negatively impacted spirituality and spiritual care (β = -0.196, p < 0.001).

IMPLICATION

Enhancing nurses' spiritual care competence through training and support can foster a more compassionate and spiritually supportive environment for patients, which is crucial in psychiatric care settings where patients often face complex emotional and mental health challenges.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that psychiatric nurses can improve their ability to deliver spiritually and professionally competent care by mitigating compassion fatigue, thus improving patient outcomes and nurse well-being.

The mediating role of nurses' spiritual well-being between moral resilience and compassion fatigue: A multicenter structural equation model study

AIMS

To investigate the mediating role of spiritual well-being in the association between compassion fatigue and moral resilience among nurses.

BACKGROUND

Nurses are inevitably placed in situations of compassion fatigue. Their moral resilience and spiritual well-being may play a crucial role in mitigating the impacts of compassion fatigue. Nonetheless, spiritual well-being, which mediates the influence between compassion fatigue and moral resilience, remains scarce among nurses.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional and correlational design.

METHODS

Nurses (n = 465) from four government-owned tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia were recruited and completed three self-report scales from July to December 2023. Descriptive statistics (e.g., mean, standard deviation, frequency, and proportions) and inferential statistics (Spearman rho and structural equation modeling) were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

The emerging model afforded acceptable model fit parameters. Moral resilience had a negative effect on compassion fatigue (β = -0.05, p = 0.003) and a positive influence on spiritual well-being (β = 0.51, p = 0.003). Spiritual well-being negatively influenced compassion fatigue (β = -0.90, p = 0.003). Moral resilience had a moderate, negative, indirect effect on compassion fatigue through the mediation of spiritual well-being (β = -0.47, p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

Our study offered a model that validated the mediating role of spiritual well-being in the association between moral resilience and compassion fatigue. Moral resilience directly and indirectly influences spiritual well-being and compassion fatigue, respectively.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE AND POLICY

Healthcare institutions that employ nurses must continually assess compassion fatigue levels and provide necessary interventions. Nurses, nurse managers, and healthcare institutions may leverage moral resilience to improve nurses' spiritual well-being while averting the negative effects of compassion fatigue. Healthcare institutions may incorporate spiritual care into their mainstream support interventions to enhance their compassion, reduce fatigue, and enhance their mental well-being.

Moral sensitivity, spiritual care perception, and compassion fatigue of nurses caring for earthquake victims

BACKGROUND

Two major earthquakes occurred within 10 hours in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023, which resulted in thousands of deaths and injured people within Turkey.

AIM

To determine the relationship between moral sensitivity, spiritual care perception, and compassion fatigue among nurses caring for earthquake victims.

METHODS

The study population consisted of 483 nurses working in public, private, and university hospitals in earthquake-affected areas in Turkey. The sociodemographic characteristics form, moral sensitivity questionnaire, spirituality and spiritual care rating scale, and compassion fatigue short scale were used for data collection.

RESULTS

There was a statistically significant negative relationship between nurses' moral sensitivity and compassion fatigue; in other words, as compassion fatigue increases, nurses' moral sensitivity decreases. A statistically significant negative relationship was found between nurses' perception of spiritual care and their compassion fatigue; in other words, as compassion fatigue increases, nurses' perception of spirituality and spiritual care decreases.

CONCLUSION

This study provides valuable insights into moral sensitivity, perceptions of spiritual care, and compassion fatigue among nurses caring for earthquake victims.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY

Minimizing nurses' compassion fatigue improves quality patient care, increases patient and employee satisfaction, and maintains commitment to the profession. To achieve this goal, it is essential to offer in-service training, conferences, or seminar programs to nurses focused on fostering a sense of compassion. Nurses should be provided with environments that will improve their self-care, and institutional policies and strategies should be developed to cope effectively with this situation.

Cognitive Control/Flexibility, Social Isolation, and Intrinsic Job Satisfaction of Intensive Care Unit Nurses

Although cognitive control and flexibility have been examined in the past, this study examines their relationship in a stressful working environment, focusing on intrinsic job satisfaction using cognitive behavioral theory as a framework. This study examined cognitive factors (cognitive control and cognitive flexibility) and emotional state (intrinsic job satisfaction) while assessing the mediating role of social isolation, an external work environment variable. The study focused on intrinsic job satisfaction with extrinsic job satisfaction as a covariate. A cross-sectional questionnaire method was used. Two hundred and ten nurses from twelve intensive care units participated. Model one examined cognitive control while model two examined cognitive flexibility, accounting for 32% and 38% of the variance in intrinsic job satisfaction, respectively. Model one accounted for 13% of the variance in social isolation through cognitive control and extrinsic job satisfaction while model two accounted for approximately 14.91% of the variance in social isolation through cognitive flexibility and extrinsic job satisfaction. Combining the two models accounted for 17% of the variance in social isolation and 37.4% of the variation in intrinsic job satisfaction. The results emphasize the importance of training nurses in cognitive control and flexibility to increase intrinsic job satisfaction.

Job satisfaction and burnout syndrome among intensive-care unit nurses: A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

The severe conditions often experienced in an intensive care unit, combined with poor working conditions, increase stress and therefore decrease job satisfaction. Sustained stress in the workplace leads to the development of burnout, a syndrome characterised by three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and perceived lack of personal fulfilment.

OBJECTIVE

To analyse the relationship between burnout syndrome and job satisfaction among ICU personnel.

DATA SOURCES

The PubMed, CINAHL and Scopus databases were used.

STUDY DESIGN

A systematic review and meta-analysis. The study sample consisted of 18 quantitative primary studies conducted in the last five years. Validated questionnaires were used to assess burnout in ICU healthcare workers, the most commonly used being the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

EXTRACTION METHODS

The search equation applied was: "job satisfaction AND nurs* AND burnout AND (ICU OR intensive care units)". The search was performed in October 2022.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

The search returned 514 results. Only 73 articles met the eligibility criteria. After reading the title and abstract, 20 articles were selected. After reading the full texts, 12 articles remained and after the reverse search, 18 articles were finally selected. The studies reported a 50% prevalence of burnout, all three dimensions of which were heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of the study findings revealed an inverse association between burnout and job satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

Job dissatisfaction of ICU nurses depends on lack of experience, working conditions or working environment among others. ICU nurses with lower job satisfaction have higher levels of burnout.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE

This meta-analysis shows the potential value of job satisfaction on improving health outcomes related to burnout syndrome for nursing professional in Intensive Care Units. Different factors that could increase job satisfaction and consequently protect them from suffering high levels of burnout, such as salary, permanence in the service, mental health care are the responsibility of the hospital supervisor and, finally, of the own Health System. Knowledge of a risk profile based on the factors influencing job dissatisfaction would enable the implementation of effective workplace interventions to reduce or prevent the risk of burnout. Health policies should focus on protecting the worker, so in addition to improving working conditions, it would be interesting to promote coping skills in order to improve the quality of care and patient safety.