Effects of psychological intervention on empathy fatigue in nurses: A meta-analysis

Analysis of the current situation and influencing factors of nurse change fatigue

Background

As the healthcare environment undergoes rapid evolution, nurses frequently confront multifaceted changes, resulting in significant change fatigue. This fatigue adversely impacts their well-being, diminishes job satisfaction, elevates turnover rates, and undermines the quality of care provided.

Aim

To comprehend the fatigue levels experienced by clinical nurses amidst environmental changes and to analyze the factors influencing this fatigue.

Methods

A survey was conducted among 451 clinical nurses at a tertiary general hospital in Nantong City, utilizing the Change Fatigue Scale, Care Perception Scale, and Emotional Intelligence Scale.

Results

The change fatigue score was 19.01 ± 3.63, indicating a moderate level of fatigue. Change fatigue was inversely correlated with emotional intelligence and care perception (all p < 0.05). Multiple linear stepwise regression analysis revealed that monthly income, professional title, years of work, number of night shifts, care perception, and emotional intelligence were significant factors influencing the change fatigue experienced by clinical nurses amidst environmental changes (all p < 0.05). These factors collectively accounted for 76.1% of the total variation.

Conclusion

Clinical nurses exhibit moderate levels of change fatigue. Therefore, it is recommended that nursing managers implement regular emotional intelligence training and reduce night shifts to actively address the rapid changes brought about by the healthcare industry and, consequently, enhance the quality of nursing care.

A qualitative study on compassion fatigue experience and influencing factors of geriatric nurses

Objective

With the rapid development of an aging society, the workload of geriatric nurses is increasing, but their psychological health issues are not receiving enough attention. This study explores the experience of compassion fatigue and its influencing factors among geriatric nurses, and provides targeted recommendations.

Methods

This qualitative study, conducted at the Guangzhou First People's Hospital. Sixteen nurses of a geriatric department were selected using purposive sampling and subjected to semi-structured in-depth interviews. The study was carried out from September 2022 to February 2023, Colaizzi's method was used to analyze the qualitative data obtained from the interviews.

Results

Three main themes were extracted from the analysis: compassion fatigue greatly affects my personal mentality, various things can cause nurses to experience compassion fatigue, and compassion fatigue causes many problems in the lives and work of nurses, including ten sub-themes.

Conclusion

This qualitative study reports nurses in geriatric department are prone to compassion fatigue. The factors influencing nurses' compassion fatigue need to be correctly identified so that targeted pre-control strategies can be adopted to promote nurses' physical and mental health, increase compassion satisfaction and reduce burnout.

The impact of nursing work environment, emotional intelligence, and empathy fatigue on nurses' presenteeism: a structural equation model

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the impact of the work environment, emotional intelligence, and empathy fatigue on nurse presenteeism and to examine the mediating roles of emotional intelligence and empathy fatigue.

METHODS

This study employed a cross-sectional research design and conducted a questionnaire survey from April to July 2024 among 1,375 nurses (aged 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, and ≥ 45 years) from six tertiary hospitals in Henan Province. The questionnaire included demographic characteristics, the Nursing Practice Environment Scale, the Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Empathy Fatigue Scale, and the Stanford Presenteeism Scale. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 26.0. A structural equation model was constructed, and the Bootstrap method was employed to assess the mediating effects.

RESULTS

The average presenteeism score among nurses was 19.49 ± 5.910. A partial mediation effect exists among the four variables: work environment, emotional intelligence, empathy fatigue, and nurse presenteeism. Specifically, the nursing work environment not only directly negatively influences nurse presenteeism but also indirectly affects it through the mediating roles of emotional intelligence and empathy fatigue. Furthermore, emotional intelligence and empathy fatigue serve as a chain mediator between the work environment and nurse presenteeism.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate that the nursing work environment not only directly affects nurse presenteeism but also indirectly influences their presenteeism through emotional intelligence and empathy fatigue. These findings provide theoretical support and guidance for reducing nurse presenteeism rates, emphasizing the importance of optimizing the nursing work environment, enhancing emotional intelligence, and alleviating empathy fatigue in nursing practice.

The formation pattern, causes, and governance of network public opinion on university emergencies

Background

University emergencies, garnering significant public attention and shaping network opinions, pose a crucial challenge to universities' management and societal stability. Hence, network public opinion on university emergencies is a vital issue. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism has not been fully explored and cannot be efficiently controlled. This study aimed to explore the formation pattern of network public opinion on university emergencies, analyze its causes, and provide scientific governance strategies for coping with this issue.

Methods

Based on a sample set of 204 cases from the Zhiwei Data Sharing Platform, this study classifies network public opinion on university emergencies into six types and visually analyzes their characteristics: time distribution, subject, duration, and emotion. By integrating the theory of the network public opinion field, this study develops a network public opinion field model of university emergencies to reveal its formation pattern. Furthermore, it analyzes the causes of network public opinion on university emergencies from the perspective of the public opinion lifecycle and proposes corresponding governance strategies.

Results

The sample consisted of 304 cases of real-life public opinion, and the visualization results show that public opinion on mental health and teacher-student safety constitutes the predominant types, accounting for 83.3%. High-occurrence subjects are public universities (88.24%) and students (48%). The most frequent months are July and December. 90.20% of the public opinions have a lifespan of less than 19 days, with an impact index ranging from 40 to 80. The public's emotional response to different types of public opinion varies, with negative emotions dominating.

Conclusion

This study provides novel insights for understanding their formation and dissemination. It also provides practical implications for relevant departments to govern network public opinion on university emergencies.

A study of latent profile analysis of empathic competence and factors influencing it in nursing interns: a multicenter cross-sectional study

Background

Empathy, as one of the fundamental principles of nursing professionalism, plays a pivotal role in the formation and advancement of the nursing team. Nursing interns, as a reserve force within the nursing team, are of significant importance in terms of their ability to empathize. This quality is not only directly related to the degree of harmony in the nurse-patient relationship and the enhancement of patient satisfaction, but also plays a pivotal role in the promotion of the quality of nursing services to a new level.

Aim

The objective of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the current state of nursing interns' empathic abilities. To this end, we sought to examine empathic performance under different profile models and to identify the key factors influencing these profile models.

Methods

The study utilized 444 nursing interns from 11 tertiary general hospitals in Inner Mongolia as research subjects. The study employed a number of research tools, including demographic characteristics, the Jefferson Scale of Empathy, and the Professional Quality of Life Scale. A latent profile model of nursing interns' empathy ability was analyzed using Mplus 8.3. The test of variability of intergroup variables was performed using the chi-square test. Finally, the influencing factors of each profile model were analyzed by unordered multi-categorical logistic regression analysis.

Results

The overall level of empathy among nursing interns was found to be low, with 45% belonging to the humanistic care group, 43% exhibiting low empathy, and 12% demonstrating high empathy. The internship duration, empathy satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, only child, place of birth, and satisfaction with nursing were identified as factors influencing the latent profiles of empathy in nursing interns (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

There is considerable heterogeneity in nursing interns' ability to empathize. Consequently, nursing educators and administrators should direct greater attention to interns with lower empathy and develop targeted intervention strategies based on the influences of the different underlying profiles.

Interventions for Compassion Fatigue in Healthcare Providers-A Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials

BACKGROUND

Compassion fatigue is a significant issue considering its consequences including negative feelings, impaired cognition, and increased risk of long-term morbidities. We aimed to assess current evidence on the effects of interventions for compassion fatigue in healthcare providers (HCP).

METHODS

We used the Cochrane methodology for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) for conducting and reporting this review.

RESULTS

Fifteen RCTs (n = 1740) were included. The sample size of individual studies was small ranging from 23 to 605. There was significant heterogeneity in participant, intervention, control, and outcome characteristics. The tools for assessing intervention effects on compassion fatigue included ProQOL, compassion fatigue scale, and nurses compassion fatigue inventory. Thirteen out of the fifteen included RCTs had overall high risk of bias (ROB). Meta-analysis could not be performed given the significant heterogeneity.

CONCLUSIONS

Current evidence on interventions for reducing compassion fatigue in HCPs is inadequate. Given the benefits reported in some of the included studies, well-designed and adequately powered RCTs are urgently needed.