The Costs of Caring: Quantifying Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction in Burn Therapists

Recovery from a severe burn injury requires early and aggressive therapy, which is often painful and distressing to the patient. Burn therapists who guide these interventions may be prone to experiencing secondary trauma and compassion fatigue through repeated exposure to difficult situations. At the same time, therapists may gain a sense of purpose and altruism from their work, fostering compassion satisfaction. Despite being well documented in other health professions, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction have not been sufficiently explored among burn therapists. This study aimed to quantify and characterize burn therapists' compassion fatigue and satisfaction using the Professional Quality of Life scale and to answer the question of what job-related factors may impact these outcomes. A total of 143 burn therapists participated in this study. Results revealed compassion fatigue subsale scores of burnout and secondary traumatic stress in the low or moderate range and compassion satisfaction scores in the moderate or high ranges for all participants. This study presents new knowledge for the field of burn care in its quantification of professional quality of life in burn therapists. While burn therapists experienced moderate-to-high levels of compassion satisfaction in their work, burnout and stress also approached moderate levels. Years of practice was a significant predictor of compassion. Although the reasons for this are not clear, it may be related to increased competence or confidence in practice and may suggest a need for different support strategies for practitioners at each stage of their burn therapy career.

The Professional Quality of Life of Domestic and Sexual Violence Advocates: A Systematic Review of Possible Risk and Protective Factors

Professionals employed within the field of domestic and sexual violence (DV/SV) are known to experience both positive and negative psychological impacts because of the nature of their work. This review aims to establish which factors influence the professional quality of life (ProQOL) of DV/SV advocates. This group is known to face challenges that are specific to their working practices including scarce resources and frequent exposure to traumatic material. The systematic review protocol was designed based upon Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidance. Following a mixed-methods convergent segregated approach, a systematic search for qualitative and quantitative research within PsycINFO, Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Sage, Taylor & Francis, Wiley Online Library, and BASE was undertaken. Peer-reviewed empirical research and relevant gray literature, published in English, were considered for inclusion. Thirty articles were identified (16 quantitative, 13 qualitative, and 1 mixed-methods study), and assessed for methodological quality and risk of bias using established quality appraisal tools. An array of risk and protective factors emerged including communication competence, support from co-workers, office resources, and occupational stigma. A gap in the current evidence base was identified regarding the role that personal strengths may play in the well-being of those employed within the DV/SV sector. The ProQOL of DV/SV advocates is complex and dependent upon a variety of factors specific to their situation at the time. However, the findings of this review provide an important evidence base for future research avenues as well as policies and procedures for this workforce specifically.

Online Modules to Alleviate Burnout and Related Symptoms Among Interdisciplinary Staff in Long-Term Care: A Pre-post Feasibility Study

BACKGROUND

The rising trend of providing palliative care to residents in Canadian long-term care facilities places additional demands on care staff, increasing their risk of burnout. Interventions and strategies to alleviate burnout are needed to reduce its impact on quality of patient care and overall functioning of healthcare organizations.

AIM

To examine the feasibility of implementing online modules with the primary goal of determining recruitment and retention rates, completion time and satisfaction with the modules. A secondary goal was to describe changes in burnout and related symptoms associated with completing the modules.

SETTING

This single-arm, nonrandomized feasibility study was conducted in five long-term care sites of a publicly-funded healthcare organization in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Eligible participants were clinical staff who worked at least 1 day per month.

RESULTS

A total of 103 study participants consented to participate, 31 (30.1%) of whom were lost to follow-up. Of the remaining 72 participants, 64 (88.9%) completed the modules and all questionnaires. Most participants completed the modules in an hour (89%) and found them easy to understand (98%), engaging (84%), and useful (89%). Mean scores on burnout and secondary traumatic stress decreased by .9 (95% CI: .1-1.8; d = .3) and 1.4 (95% CI: .4-2.4; d = .4), respectively; mean scores on compassion satisfaction were virtually unchanged.

CONCLUSIONS

Modules that teach strategies to reduce burnout among staff in long-term care are feasible to deliver and have the potential to reduce burnout and related symptoms. Randomized controlled trials are needed to assess effectiveness and longer-term impact.

Professional Quality of Life and Associated Factors Among Pediatric Glaucoma Providers

PURPOSE

Even though physician burnout can negatively impact physical/mental health, ophthalmologists' quality of life (QOL) is understudied. Although managing high-risk diseases like pediatric glaucoma may lead to compassion satisfaction (CS), the responsibility of caring for very sick, demanding patients has been linked to higher burnout. Burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS) constitute compassion fatigue, the negative effects resulting from helping those who experience stress. We assessed professional QOL, including CS, burnout, and STS, along with associated factors among pediatric glaucoma providers managing potentially blinding disease in children.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey study.

PARTICIPANTS

Pediatric glaucoma providers in the Childhood Glaucoma Research Network, American Glaucoma Society, and Indian Paediatric Glaucoma Society.

METHODS

Participants were sent an electronic survey of a validated instrument (Professional Quality of Life-Version 5) designed to measure burnout, STS, and CS, as well as questions related to demographics, lifestyle, training, and practice. Burnout, STS, and CS scores range from 10 to 50 and are classified into low (≤ 22), moderate (23-41), and high (≥ 42) subgroups.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Burnout, STS, and CS.

RESULTS

Seventy-six pediatric glaucoma providers completed the survey with resulting burnout (22.6 ± 6.3), STS (22.7 ± 6.1), and CS (42.3 ± 6.7) scores. Most respondents had low burnout (43, 56.6%), low STS (44, 57.9%) and high CS (48, 63.2%), though more than a third reported moderate burnout (33, 43.4%), STS (31, 40.8%), and CS (27, 35.6%). Older age and more years in practice correlated positively with CS, and age correlated negatively with STS (P < 0.05 for all). Frequent workday fatigue correlated positively with burnout and STS and negatively with CS, and frequent caffeine consumption correlated positively with burnout and negatively with CS (P < 0.05 for all). Members of a married or unmarried couple had significantly lower CS scores than single, divorced, or separated respondents (P = 0.022).

CONCLUSIONS

Pediatric glaucoma providers derive a high level of professional satisfaction from their work, though many report moderate burnout and STS. To comprehensively address provider QOL, CS, and both components of compassion fatigue must be considered. Initial efforts may be focused on younger, early-career providers as this group had lower professional QOL scores than their older, late-career counterparts.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S)

Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.

A Preliminary Assessment of Compassion Fatigue in Chimpanzee Caregivers

Compassion fatigue is defined as "traumatization of helpers through their efforts at helping others". It has negative effects on clinicians including reduced satisfaction with work, fatigue, irritability, dread of going to work, and lack of joy in life. It is correlated with patients' decreased satisfaction with care. Compassion fatigue occurs in a variety of helping professions including educators, social workers, mental health clinicians, and it also appears in nonhuman animal care workers. This study surveyed caregivers of chimpanzees using the ProQOL-V to assess the prevalence of compassion fatigue among this group. Compassion satisfaction is higher than many other types of animal care workers. Conversely, this group shows moderate levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress; higher levels than other types of animal care workers and many medical professions. While compassion fatigue has an effect on the caregiver's experience, it has potential to affect animal welfare. Caregivers are an integral part of the chimpanzee social network. Compassion fatigue affects the caregiver's attitude, this could in turn affect the relationship and degrade the experience of care for captive chimpanzees. Compassion fatigue can be mitigated with professional development, mindfulness training, interrelationships among staff, and specialized training. This preliminary assessment indicates the work ahead is educating caregivers about compassion fatigue and implementing procedures in sanctuaries to mitigate burnout and secondary traumatic stress.

Fear of COVID-19 Impact on Professional Quality of Life among Mental Health Workers

Several studies have examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers' mental health, but only a few have investigated its detrimental effect on the mental well-being of mental health workers (MHWs).

BACKGROUND

The current study aimed to explore the effect of the fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19) on professional quality of life dimensions, namely compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout (BO), and secondary traumatic stress (STS) in MHWs above and beyond sociodemographic and professional factors.

METHODS

Hierarchical linear regression models were employed to examine the relationship of extreme FCV-19 with CS, BO, and STS in MHWs (n = 224), after considering sociodemographic variables as potential confounding factors. Extreme FCV-19 was operationalized as a binary variable with a cut-off score of ≥16.5 considered as extreme fear.

RESULTS

We found that extreme FCV-19 in MHWs is linked with increased compassion fatigue (BO and STS), and this relationship is exacerbated by younger age in regard to BO and by female gender concerning STS. CS remains unaffected by severe FCV-19, and it is higher in older participants.

CONCLUSION

Organizational support is required to protect MHWs' mental well-being and ensure the quality of care they provide during prolonged crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures that intensify a sense of safety, protection, and control against COVID-19 infections in mental health services should be included in the recommendations that may reduce BO and STS among MHWs.

Predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in health care workers providing health and rehabilitation services in rural and remote locations: A scoping review

INTRODUCTION

A better understanding of the predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in health care workers in rural and remote communities is needed to inform preventative interventions for this sector of the health workforce.

OBJECTIVE

To identify predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in health care workers providing health and rehabilitation services in rural and remote locations.

DESIGN

A scoping review informed by Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage framework and the scoping review protocol of the PRISMA-ScR statement.

FINDINGS

The search yielded 946 articles, and 34 full texts were screened for eligibility, leaving 12 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. No studies on workers providing rehabilitation services were identified. Three studies assessed possible predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in health care workers, and all studies evaluated burnout. The most studied predictor variables were age, gender, profession and workload.

DISCUSSION

This study identified potential risk and protective factors for health care workers that are likely relevant to those providing rehabilitation services in rural locations. Little is known about possible predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in professionals working in rural and remote areas outside of medicine and nursing or health care workers in rural community-based settings.

CONCLUSION

Research examining predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in rehabilitation health care workers working in rural and remote locations is scant. Research that identifies risk and protective factors in this rapidly growing sector of the health care workforce is needed to inform the development of interventions that promote professional quality of life.

Psychological impact of caring during the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV nurses

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a set of unprecedented challenges for healthcare services and staff. The authors conducted a national online survey of nurses employed to work in HIV services in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to establish how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on the professional quality of life of HIV nurses. Professional quality of life was assessed using the ProQOL scale; 132 nurses completed the survey, 99 of whom completed the ProQOL scale. Just over 1 in 3 were redeployed in the first pandemic wave, dropping to 1 in 6 in subsequent waves. In multivariate analysis, redeployment in both waves increased burnout scores by nearly 10 points and decreased compassion satisfaction scores by nearly 5 points, with no effect on secondary traumatic stress scores. A supportive workplace environment will have a key role in supporting the path to recovery.

Secondary traumatic stress, burnout, compassion satisfaction, and perceived organizational trauma readiness in forensic science professionals

Secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and compassion satisfaction have been described since the 1980s and extensively studied in first responders, law enforcement, legal professionals, and human service providers. There are few studies in forensic science professionals. To determine levels of secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and compassion satisfaction and relate these to demographics and job characteristics, we administered online a modified version of the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) questionnaire to professionals in crime laboratories and medical examiner offices. Participants also completed a modified version of the Vicarious Trauma-Organizational Readiness Guide (VT-ORG) to measure perceptions of their organizations' efforts to address vicarious trauma and promote health and wellness. Results from 419 subjects indicated that field-based forensic science professionals registered higher levels of secondary traumatic stress compared to laboratory-based professionals, but burnout and compassion satisfaction were not significantly different between these groups. Demographic variables did not predict any of these outcome measures, but work with victims' families and testifying significantly, albeit weakly, predicted higher secondary traumatic stress. Greater employee belief that their organizations were addressing issues of stress and trauma predicted lower levels of secondary traumatic stress and burnout and higher levels of compassion satisfaction. Write-in responses by participants paralleled the quantitative findings. These results indicate a need to strengthen organizational efforts to address stress and trauma and promote health and wellness, particularly in professionals with direct field-based exposure to crime scenes, contact with victims' families, and responsibility for testifying.

Psychological impact of an acute intervention on medical-psychological emergency unit professionals: the example of hurricane Irma

BACKGROUND

Medical-psychological emergency units (Cellules d'Urgence Médico-Psychologiques, CUMP) are deployed following major events where there is a risk of psychological trauma, in order to provide acute and proper psychological care for the victims.

AIMS

To describe and evaluate the risk of a psychological impact on CUMP professionals after their participation in the aftermath of the hurricane Irma natural disaster. CUMP teams consist of medical and paramedical staff, who can have permanent or volunteer status. We reasoned that there might be a psychological and emotional impact on CUMP professionals, despite their own expertise in the field, after their intervention following hurricane Irma.

METHOD

A cross-sectional survey was conducted during a feedback meeting. Participating professionals completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) scale (5th French version), which is composed of three subscales: compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS).

RESULTS

A total of 53 participants were included with 24 (45.3%) psychiatrists, 15 (28.3%) paramedical staff and 14 (26.4%) psychologists. The median age was 46 years (range 39-55.5) and 29 (54.7%) were women. We found that psychiatrists compared with other professions had higher secondary traumatic stress scores (P = 0.007) and that volunteer psychiatrists had higher burnout scores than permanent psychiatrists (P = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

These preliminary results suggest a psychological impact attributable to leadership status, which was reserved for psychiatrists. The results also underline the need for a supportive accompaniment for such teams by promoting formation improvement, psychological support and team cohesion.

Burnout and secondary traumatic stress in health-system pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose

To describe the prevalence of burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS) in health-system pharmacists during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods. A cross-sectional, professional pharmacy organization listserver–based online survey of a target group of health-system pharmacists across the United States was conducted. The survey was sent out through professional organization listservers and was anonymous and voluntary. The survey questionnaire included items regarding demographics and employment characteristics, COVID-19–related questions, a survey of respondents’ perceptions of the prevalence and severity of burnout, and the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL). The ProQOL assessed respondents for compassion satisfaction (subcategorized as burnout and STS) and compassion fatigue. Descriptive statistics was used to assess the prevalence of burnout and STS.

Results

Four hundred eighty-four health-system pharmacists completed the survey. Based on respondents’ self-ratings of burnout, 47% were identified as having current burnout and 81% as having a history of burnout. Based on ProQOL scoring, 65.3% of respondents were identified as having a moderate or high likelihood of burnout, which was a prevalence higher than that indicated by respondents’ self-ratings. Additionally, 51.4% of respondents were identified as having a moderate or high probability of STS and 99.4% as having a moderate or high probability of compassion satisfaction.

Conclusion

The survey found that over half of health-system pharmacists were affected with burnout, half with STS, and three-fourths with compassion satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the development of burnout and STS in these health-system pharmacists may lead to several work-related consequences (eg, increase risk of medical errors, depression); therefore, addressing burnout and STS is crucial. Further studies of the consequences of burnout and STS during the COVID-19 pandemic are needed.

Exploring the relationships among professional quality of life, personal quality of life and resignation in the nursing profession

AIM

To explore the relationships between nurses' quality of life, personal quality of life, intention to stay (ITS) and resign and factors related to resignation.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort design.

METHODS

The participants were recruited from three different levels of hospital in central Taiwan. The survey instruments were structured questionnaires including demographics, Professional Quality of Life Scale, Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Scale of ITS. The survey data were collected from December 2017-August 2018. Data on nurses' resignation were collected from the hospital systems 3 months after the survey. Descriptive analysis and multiple logistic regression were used to analyse the factors predicting participants' resignation.

RESULTS

Five hundred and fifty-three participants were recruited. Forty-nine out of 553 participants resigned (8.9%). Higher scores in compassion satisfaction were related to a greater ITS (p < .05). Employment units, burnout and ITS were the predictors for resignation (p < .05). We also found that compassion satisfaction moderated the relationship between ITS and resignation.

CONCLUSION

Compassion satisfaction of nursing professionals strengthened the effect of ITS on resignation. Programmes to reinforce satisfaction and stress management could be strategies for increasing nurses' professional quality of life and retention in clinical practice.

IMPACT

The study was the first to explore the relationships between professionals' quality of life, personal quality of life, ITS and resign. The study showed that compassion satisfaction increased the effect between ITS and resignation. Sense of achievement and satisfaction were the most important factors influencing nurses to stay in clinical practice. It is important to enhance nurse compassion satisfaction in nursing career, their job identity and gratification. The effective supportive environment and self-reflection may enhance compassion satisfaction, ameliorate nurse retention and improve the quality of care.

Intrapersonal mindfulness is associated with reduced risk of burnout among Central Appalachian educators

BACKGROUND

National statistics suggest that up to 40% of new teachers will leave their school or the teaching profession within their first five years of teaching. Much of this attrition is associated with work-related burnout, some of which may be preventable with targeted worksite health interventions. Previous research suggests that mindfulness skills may be protective from burnout, ultimately reducing the likelihood of attrition from the profession.

METHODS

This study compared the self-reported levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress with participants' levels of interpersonal and intrapersonal mindfulness. A total of 144 participants completed the Professional Quality of Life Inventory and the Mindfulness in Teaching Inventory. Study participants included K-12 teachers in Eastern Kentucky. Odds Ratios and Relative Risks were calculated using Epi Info. Pearson correlations, linear regression, and ANOVA analyses were completed using SPSS. Chronbach's alpha values were also calculated to evaluate score reliability of the five constructs.

RESULTS

Relative Risks and Odds Ratios of having secondary traumatic stress scores of "average/high" were significantly lower for those with high intrapersonal mindfulness scores (OR = 0.12, CI: 0.05-0.30; RR = 0.21, CI: 0.10-0.44). Those who reported high intrapersonal mindfulness scores were up to 11 times more likely to report "low" burnout than those who reported low intrapersonal mindfulness scores (OR = 11.58, CI: 5.06-26.52). Burnout neg- atively correlated with intrapersonal mindfulness (r = -0.616, p < .05) suggesting that as intrapersonal mindfulness level decreases, burnout increases. ANOVA testing identified significant differences in burnout based on intrapersonal mindfulness level (F = 8.928, p <.05).

CONCLUSION

Those who reported high levels of intrapersonal mindfulness had significantly reduced risk of burnout. These results will inform further research in the region regarding mindfulness practice and the experience of burnout among teachers in the region. Thus, mindfulness may be protective from occupation-related burnout for this population. Interventions informed by additional research could reduce the burden of occupation-related burnout and may ultimately contribute toward reduced attrition in the teaching profession.

Baseline well-being, perceptions of critical incidents, and openness to debriefing in community hospital emergency department clinical staff before COVID-19, a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Emergency department personnel routinely bear witness to traumatic experiences and critical incidents that can affect their own well-being. Peer support through debriefing has demonstrated positive impacts on clinicians' well-being following critical incidents. This study explored community hospital emergency department staff's perceptions of critical incidents, assessed openness to debriefing and measured baseline well-being. Our analysis provides a baseline of provider well-being immediately prior to the local onset of COVID-19. The potential need for additional resources to support frontline providers during the pandemic can be evaluated.

METHOD

We conducted a cross-sectional study for 4-weeks prior to the first COVID-19 case in Connecticut using a survey offered to an interprofessional group of emergency department clinical staff. The main outcome measures were the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) scale. Pearson's chi-square test was used to identify significant differences in perceptions of critical incidents and debriefings between professional categories. One-way ANOVA and Tukey's test were used to analyze significant differences in well-being between professional categories.

RESULTS

Thirty-nine clinical personnel from St. Vincent's Emergency Department responded to the survey. Events frequently selected as critical incidents were caring for critically ill children (89.7%), mass casualty events (84.6%), and death of a patient (69.2%). Critical incidents were commonly reported (81.6%) as occurring once per week. Additionally, 76.2% of participants reported wanting to discuss a critical incident with their team. Across all respondents, 45.7% scored borderline or abnormal for anxiety, 55.9% scored moderate for burnout, and 55.8% scored moderate to high for secondary traumatic stress.

CONCLUSIONS

At baseline, providers reported caring for critically ill children, mass casualty events, and death of a patient as critical incidents, which typically occurred once per week. Death of a patient occurs at increased frequency during the protracted mass casualty experience of COVID-19 and threatens provider well-being. Receptiveness to post-event debriefing is high but the method is still underutilized. With nearly half of staff scoring borderline or abnormal for anxiety, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress at baseline, peer support measures should be implemented to protect frontline providers' well-being during and after the pandemic.

[Quality of professional life of working with asylum seekers: compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress in reception professionals]

In the last years, in Italy, Extraordinary Reception Centres have been set up to meet the primary and secondary needs of asylum seekers landing on the Mediterranean coast. After the opening of the ERCs, a new professional body, the reception professionals, has been formed in the national territory. According to the context and the goals of the ERC, at the beginning no specific training was required, so their professional profile derived from the different background. Considering their institutional task, such as facilitating the reception and the full care of asylum seekers, the reception professionals are daily involved in the relationship with the respondents and exposed to their traumatic stories or symptoms. In fact, asylum seekers are people who are often deeply traumatized by past experiences, by the journey, but also disoriented and unprepared for the complex experience of reception and integration, wich influence the climate and quality of professional life of reception professionals. As happen in helping professionals continuously exposed to stressful or traumatic events, also in the work of helping for and welcoming asylum seekers there is a high risk of developing the negative symptoms associated with Burnout and vicarious trauma. Although, in the last twenty years, the quality of professional life has been extensively studied in several areas, there are no studies that explore this issue among professionals in the field of reception. In this study, the questionnaire ProQOL 5 was submitted to the reception professionals of the Extraordinary Reception Centres of Parma and its province, actively involved in helping relationship with asylum seekers, with the aim of defining the state of psychosocial well-being and their quality of professional life. Although it has been shown that on average reception professionals report good satisfaction in carrying out their work, three profiles have emerged. The first group reports a higher level of Burnout, the second group a greater Compassion Satisfaction and the third group, instead, a higher level of Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress. The data obtained allow to partially fill a gap in the literature. Moreover, the results suggest the need of interventions of prevention and management of organizations, in order to promote the psychosocial well-being of this emerging professional body.

Impact of Mind-Body Medicine Professional Skills Training on Healthcare Professional Burnout

BACKGROUND

Healthcare professional burnout has reached epidemic proportions, with downstream effects on personal and patient health and on our institutions. Solutions lie in the domains of work culture, operational efforts, and personal strategies.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the impact of a 5-day mind-body medicine professional training program on burnout and quality of life.

METHODS

We conducted pre- and postevaluation of a mind-body medicine skills training for healthcare professionals on 6 wellness domains using 2 validated instruments: the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Professional Quality of Life Survey.

RESULTS

There was a statistically significant improvement in changes in emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment, compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress which was sustained at 12 months. Largest relative improvements occurred in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, 22% and 21%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

In addition to providing an important patient care skill set, mind-body medicine training may be an effective way to mitigate burnout and improve healthcare professional well-being.

[Validation of the Hungarian version of the Professional Quality of Life Scale]

INTRODUCTION

The Professional Quality of Life Scale, measuring the quality of professional life, has been developed to examine the positive and negative changes in the work of those who have undergone extremely stressful experiences. The quality of life of the personnel of palliative-hospice teams may be influenced physically as well as emotionally by their every-day experiences of suffering, death, dying and the patients' traumas.

AIM

The aim of the study was the examination of the psychometric features and factor structure of the Hungarian version of the Professional Quality of Life Scale questionnaire, which can measure compassion fatigue and satisfaction, secondary traumatisation and burnout. Our long-term objective is the development of formative and intervention strategies for hospice workers in order to increase their satisfaction, physical and mental well-being and their willingness to work in hospice.

METHOD

The cross-sectional, questionnaire study was made with hospice workers. The questionnaires were available in an anonym, printed form. We used the Hungarian versions of the Shortened Maastricht Vital Exhaustion Questionnaire and of the Shortened Beck Depression Scale, of the CES-D Depression Scale and of the Shortened WHO General Well-Being Scale to validate.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

IBM SPSS 23.0© software was used for the analysis. To explore the factor structure of the measurement scale, explorative factor analysis was made (analysis of the main component, Varimax rotation); subsequently, 4 scales were prepared the Cronbach-alpha values of which were suitable for further examination.

RESULTS

188 questionnaires were sent back (female 86.2%, male 13.8%); the majority work as nurses and in home hospice care (94 people). The inner consistency of the created 4 scales is acceptable according to the Cronbach-alpha values. The inner consistency of the questions regarding burnout is low. The correlation of our measurement scales with the standardised scales for outer validity has sufficient strength and direction.

CONCLUSIONS

Our questionnaire can measure the phenomena under examination according to the expected values, with suitable consistency on the basis of the inner and outer indicators. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(35): 1441-1449.

A Study of the Self-Reported Resilience of APC Chaplains

Approximately 5000 members of the Association of Professional Chaplains were surveyed using the Professional Quality of Life instrument in order to assess levels of Compassion Satisfaction and Compassion Fatigue and its associated subscales, Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress; 1299 surveys were completed. The most significant finding of this study is that Board Certified Chaplains have remarkably low scores of Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress and significantly high levels of Compassion Satisfaction.

Secondary Traumatization in Mental Health Professionals: A Systematic Review of Gender Findings

The issue of gender is largely ignored in studies of secondary traumatization (STS). This article addresses the question of gender differences in susceptibility to STS among clinicians who treat traumatized clients. It does so by systematically reviewing the very limited body of published findings on this subject to date. These are 10 published studies that measure STS by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology and 4 studies that measure it using Stamm's Professionals Quality of Life Survey (ProQOL), which queries PTSD symptomatology along with other difficulties that may arise in helping traumatized clients. Almost all the studies based on PTSD symptomatology show greater female susceptibility. Although the pattern is less clear in the ProQOL studies, the article argues that the research to date does not really show mixed findings, as is repeatedly claimed, but greater susceptibility among female clinicians. It also points out that the findings do not mean that male clinicians are unaffected by their traumatized clients and notes the various manifestations of their distress reported in the reviewed studies. The article offers a variety of explanations for the heightened female susceptibility.