A multi-method quasi-experimental study to assess compassion satisfaction/fatigue in nurses, midwives and allied health professionals receiving a narrative medicine intervention

Professional Quality of Life and Turnover Intention Among Perinatal Nurses in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic

PURPOSE

To examine relationships between the subdomains of professional quality of life and intention to stay in the job and the profession among perinatal registered nurses in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND

There is limited knowledge about professional quality of life, encompassing burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction, and its impact on turnover intention among U.S. perinatal registered nurses.

METHODS

We conducted a repeated, cross-sectional survey. Surveys were distributed online in May 2021 and May 2022 to a convenience sample of perinatal registered nurses (N = 113). We conducted descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Spearman's rank correlation, and multiple linear regression.

RESULTS

There was an increase in burnout (P = .004) and secondary traumatic stress (P < .001) and a decrease in compassion satisfaction (P < .001), and intention to stay in the job (P < .0001) and the profession (P < .001). Higher compassion satisfaction was associated with higher intention to stay in the job (P < .0001) and the profession (P < .0001). Higher burnout was associated with lower intention to stay in the job (P < .0001) and the profession (P < .0001). Higher secondary traumatic stress was associated with lower intention to stay in the job (P < .0001) and the profession (P < .0001).

CONCLUSION

We observed deteriorating professional quality of life and decreased intention to stay in the job and in the profession among U.S. perinatal registered nurses.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND RESEARCH

Strategies are needed to foster a health care environment in which compassion satisfaction is maximized among perinatal registered nurses.

Factors Influencing the Willingness of Clinical Nurses to Participate in Narrative Nursing: A Cross-Sectional Study

AIMS

Narrative nursing (NN) is a crucial component of modern medical humanistic care. It involves utilising storytelling as a means to guide nurses in devising future interventions for patients, and help patients in reconstructing positive psychological defences. The willingness of clinical nurses to engage in narrative nursing holds significant implications for both effective communication and the overall quality of care. However, there is limited knowledge regarding clinical nurses' willingness to engage in narrative nursing. This study aims to investigate the participation willingness of Chinese nurses, identify its predictors and explore its corresponding reasons.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

METHODS

Clinical nurses were enrolled in Hunan province, Central South, China, and a convenience sampling strategy was used. A structured questionnaire was distributed to clinical nurses by an online survey platform. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, willingness and possible influencing factors (experience, ability, perceptions on narrative nursing) was collected. Binary logistic regression was conducted to identify the predictors of willingness to participate in narrative nursing.

RESULTS

A total of 2310 nurses were recruited, of which 2092 nurses completed the questionnaire (response rate: 90.6%). One thousand seven hundred and thirty-four nurses (82.9%) were willing to participate in NN, and 358 (17.1%) were not. Binary logistic regression analysis identified nine predictors of participants' willingness to participate, including working departments, professional title, working position, experience of received mobilisation and training of NN, understanding of related knowledge, NCS level, affirmation of NN and positive attitude towards clinical application (all p values < 0.05). These indicators explained 17.1% of the variances in the dependent variable (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

A high proportion of nurses in Hunan province were willing to practice in clinic using NN. Willingness to participate may be increased by a focus on nurses with low professional titles, no administrative position and working in specialised departments, such as emergency departments, infectious departments, critical care units and operating theatres.

IMPACT

The study identified a high proportion of nurses in Hunan Province who were willing to use NN. However, the figure was slightly lower than expected. Influencing factors were analysed to give insights for managers to develop more effective NN outreach programs.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution.

Predictors of quality of professional life and well-being of medical residents and interns: Role of gender and workplace spirituality

Background and Aims

The well-being of physicians in their professional lives has a major influence on the quality of medical care and patient outcomes. This study explored how Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) and psychological well-being are connected to workplace spirituality (WPS) and demographic factors like age and gender. It also compared the average levels of ProQOL, psychological well-being, and WPS between medical residents and interns.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study, 230 medical residents and interns completed three questionnaires, including ProQOL, Ryff Scale Psychological Wellbeing-Short Form, and WPS. The data was analysed using Pearson correlation, independent t-test, ANOVA, and multiple linear regression modeling.

Results

Residents and interns had moderate ProQOL levels and higher work spirituality. However, medical residents scored lower in occupational spirituality and compassionate care fulfillment compared to interns while experiencing higher levels of emotional exhaustion and secondary mental strain. Gender disparities were significant, with women scoring higher in compassionate care fulfillment but lower in secondary mental strain. Regression analysis showed that occupational spirituality positively predicted professional, compassionate care fulfillment (B = 0.910, p < 0.001) but negatively predicted emotional exhaustion in both groups.

Conclusions

These findings underscore the importance of understanding factors like gender and work spirituality to enhance the well-being and quality of care provided by medical residents and interns.

Effectiveness of interventions on occupational stress, health and well-being, performance, and job satisfaction for midwives: A systematic mixed methods review

BACKGROUND

Work-related stress is high in midwifery with negative implications for midwives' health and performance. This systematic review therefore examined which stress management interventions (SMIs) are most effective at reducing occupational stress and improving midwives' health and well-being, performance, and job satisfaction.

METHODS

A systematic review included studies if they were: investigating midwives or student midwives; examining an individual- or organisation-level intervention; reporting the intervention effects on at least one outcome (e.g., job performance); peer-reviewed; and published in English. Methodological quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. A narrative synthesis was conducted and data were presented by SMI level (i.e., individual vs. organisation) and modality type (e.g., mindfulness, care model). Sum codes were used to compare the effects of individual- and organisation-level SMIs on outcomes.

FINDINGS

From 2605 studies identified, 30 were eligible (18 individual- and 12 organisation-level SMIs). Eight studies were deemed low quality. While individual- and organisation-level SMIs were equally effective in improving job satisfaction and performance, there was a trend for organisation-level SMIs more effectively reducing work stress and improving health and well-being. Specific individual- (i.e., mindfulness, simulation training) and organisation-level (i.e., reflective groups, midwifery care models) SMIs were most beneficial.

CONCLUSION

It is recommended that health practitioners and policy makers implement interventions that target both individual- and organisation-levels to optimally support midwives' work stress, health, well-being, and performance. Notwithstanding these findings and implications, some studies had poor methodological quality; thus, future research should better follow intervention reporting guidelines.

Unveiling the burden of compassion fatigue in nurses

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an unprecedented burden on nurses who have been at the forefront of patient care. The continuous exposure to suffering, death, and overwhelming demands has the potential to lead to compassion fatigue, a state of emotional, physical, and cognitive exhaustion.

RESEARCH AIM

The study aimed to explore and understand the phenomenon of compassion fatigue in nurses as the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESEARCH DESIGN

A constructivist grounded theory design was used.

PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT

The research data were collected from 20 nurses who had been employed in pandemic clinics in Turkey for a minimum of 6 months. Data were collected using a two-step approach: purposeful sample selection followed by theoretical sample selection. Individual interviews were conducted via an online platform with participants who consented to participate in the study from January 16th to April 28th, 2022. The collected data underwent initial, focused, and theoretical coding for analysis. The research findings were reported following the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research guidelines.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Ethical approval for the study was received from Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee. The study was conducted following the Declaration of Helsinki.

FINDINGS

The study identified a core category, namely the desire to provide the best care, which was accompanied by five main categories: causes, symptoms, consequences, coping methods, and the benefits of coping methods.

CONCLUSION

During the pandemic process, nurses have experienced compassion fatigue due to various factors and have seen its symptoms. Nurses have developed various coping mechanisms individually. However, they have not indicated any institutional-level support. It has become necessary to plan nurse-centered comprehensive interventions that will reduce compassion fatigue.

Effectiveness of psychological interventions for compassion fatigue: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

Constant exposure to trauma and death adversely affects the physical, emotional, and mental stability of the helping professionals, leading to compassion fatigue (CF). Although research has explored the effect of various psychological interventions (PIs) on CF, no studies have quantitatively synthesized their effectiveness. Thus, the current systematic review and meta-analysis address this gap by examining the efficacy of PIs in reducing CF among helping professionals.

METHODS

Databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, JSTOR, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar were searched to identify studies published between 2004 and 2023. Quantitative studies published in English that used any PI to reduce CF of helping professionals were selected for analysis. The risk of bias in studies was evaluated using Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklists and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute quality assessment tool.

RESULTS

Of the 1995 records identified from databases, 82 intervention studies were included in the systematic review, and 11 randomized controlled trials were chosen for meta-analysis. Post-intervention means and SDs of the intervention group and the control group were used to run the meta-analysis. Random effects meta-analysis results revealed that PIs are highly effective in reducing CF (standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.95; 95% CI, -1.63 to -0.27; P = .006).

CONCLUSION

Evidence suggests that PIs, especially online-delivered PIs, could reduce the CF of helping professionals. Health policymakers, concerned authorities, and intervention designers should focus on reducing the CF of helping professionals, as they need to work with vulnerable populations efficiently.