Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue in Cardiovascular Nurses: A Cross-sectional Descriptive Study

Cardiovascular nurses and organizational well-being: a systematic review

AIMS

This systematic review assesses the organizational well-being of nurses working in cardiovascular settings and identifies environmental variables influencing it.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The Joanna Briggs Institute's methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines have been followed. The search was conducted, from the database inception up to and including 1 December 2022, on Medline (via PubMed), Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. Critical appraisal and data extraction were conducted using standardized tools. Six articles of high quality were included. These mostly concerned cross-sectional studies, conducted in heterogeneous contexts, which highlight the peculiarity of the cardiovascular nursing setting. Three thematic areas were identified: stressors of cardiovascular settings; outcomes of stressors on nurses; and coping strategies used by cardiovascular nurses to deal with such stress factors. Identified stress factors included a lack of autonomy, conflicts between professional and family roles, high workloads, and stressful relationships with patients and caregivers. These organizational variables could generate nurses' burnout, depression, irritability, and/or sleep disorders. In trying to cope with such stressors, cardiovascular nurses used different strategies for compensating, avoiding, escaping, or ignoring the problem, or, in other cases, became somewhat aggressive.

CONCLUSION

Considering the limited data, cardiovascular nursing coping strategies should be further investigated, so that effective pathways for preventing or limiting stress factors can be identified and applied by the organizations. Monitoring and intervening on stress factors in this care setting could improve cardiovascular nurses' organizational well-being and accordingly patients' outcomes.

REGISTRATION

PROSPERO: CRD42022355669.

Compassion fatigue and psychological resilience levels of nursing final students: A descriptive, cross-sectional, and relational study

OBJECTIVES

Nursing students often encounter real-life trauma situations during their clinical experience and similar workplace environment and climate as professional nurses. This research was carried out to determine the reflections of the compassion fatigue levels of nursing final year students on their psychological resilience levels.

METHODS

This research was conducted as descriptive and cross-sectional. The sample of the study consists of 250 final year nursing students. Data were collected using Personal Information Form, Compassion Fatigue Scale, and Resilience Scale. It was determined that the compassion fatigue and psychological resilience levels of nursing final year students were moderate.

RESULTS

It was determined that as the levels of compassion fatigue increased, psychological resilience decreased. A highly negative and significant correlation was found between the total and sub-dimension mean scores of compassion fatigue and psychological resilience (p = 0.001).

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS

It was found that there was a negative and high level relationship between nursing students' compassion fatigue levels and all its sub-dimensions and psychological resilience. Resilience can improve psychosocial functioning and professional performance, including for nursing students facing stressful clinical experiences. It is important to determine the compassion fatigue and psychological resilience levels of nursing students, to determine the existing problems, and to take initiatives for this.

Exploring the relationship between compassion, the practice environment, and quality of care as perceived by paediatric nurses

PURPOSE

To (1) explore associations between paediatric nurses' perceptions of their own compassion, the practice environment, and quality of care, and (2) identify factors that influence perceived quality of care.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Cross-sectional survey of paediatric nurses (n = 113) from a hospital network in Melbourne, Australia. The survey included the Compassion Scale, Practice Environment Scale of the Nurse Work Index (PES-NWI), a single quality of care item, and demographic items. Hierarchical regression was used to explore factors that predicted perceived care quality.

RESULTS

There were moderate positive correlations between perceived care quality and both compassion (rho = 0.36, p < .001) and practice environment (i.e., total PES-NWI: rho = 0.45, p < .001). There were significant differences in perceived care quality based on nurses' work area (i.e., critical care vs medical/surgical wards). The final hierarchical regression analysis included compassion (Step 2) and four of five PES-NWI subscales (Step 3), controlling for work area (Step 1). The model was statistically significant and explained 44% of variance in perceived quality; compassion and PES-NWI subscale 2 (Nursing foundations for quality of care) were statistically significant predictors.

CONCLUSIONS

Paediatric nurses' perceptions of quality were influenced by their own compassion for others and elements of the practice environment, particularly nursing foundations for care quality, which is characterised by a clear nursing philosophy and model of care, with programs and processes to support practice.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

The findings offer insights into potentially modifiable individual and workplace factors that contribute to paediatric nurses' perceptions of care quality.

Correlation between professional quality of life and alarm fatigue symptoms among intensive care unit nurses

Introduction

Medical devices and equipment are necessary for accurate and continuous monitoring of the patients admitted to intensive care units, one of which is alarm systems. Frequent sounds of alarms can affect nurses' concentration and accuracy when providing care. Complications such as headache, fatigue, and stress occur after repeated alarms, leading to poor quality of professional life among nurses. This study aimed to determine the relationship between quality of professional life and alarm fatigue syndrome among intensive care unit nurses.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used convenience sampling to select nurses working in intensive care units from three hospitals in southern Iran in 2021 (n = 201). Data were collected using three questionnaires, including sociodemographic form, the professional quality of life questionnaire (ProQOL), and the alarm fatigue symptom (AFS) scale.

Results

The mean scores of compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout, secondary traumatic stress (STS) (subscales of the ProQOL), and AFS were 34.66 ± 7.54, 28.98 ± 7.59, 27.69 ± 5.87, and 13.48 ± 7.32, respectively. The majority of them had no or mild AFS, moderate CS, burnout, and STS. Among the study variables, only AFS were a significant predictor of CS and STS among ICU nurses. In addition, work experience in ICU, AFS, and a second job were significant predictors of burnout among ICU nurses.

Conclusions

The study results showed a significant relationship between alarm fatigue syndrome, burnout, STS, and CS. Given that more than half of the nurses in the intensive care unit in the present study experienced some degree of alarm fatigue syndrome, it is necessary to plan and implement interventions to better manage the alarms in the intensive care unit.

Professional quality of life and its associated factors among Vietnamese doctors and nurses

BACKGROUND

Prevalence of health workers with occupational health issues ranked fourth among all careers resulting in a reduction in quality of life. However, tools to measure professional quality of life (ProQoL) are unavailable in Vietnamese. This study aims to develop a Vietnamese version of the ProQoL, and examine ProQoL and its associated factors among doctors and nurses.

METHODS

The ProQoL is comprised of 30 items measures compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout (BO), and secondary traumatic stress (STS). The tool was translated into Vietnamese following the Guideline by Guillemin et. al (1993), reviewed by expert panels, and validated for internal consistency and test-retest reliability among 38 health workers working at hospitals in HCMC. The validated tool was then used in a cross-sectional study to measure the ProQoL of full-time doctors and nurses working in clinical departments at the University Medical Center, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In addition to the ProQoL, self-reported data about demographic and occupational characteristics were collected.

RESULTS

The Vietnamese version of ProQoL achieved high internal consistency (alphas between 0.85 and 0.91) and Intra-class Correlation Coefficients (ICCs between 0.71 and 0.89) for all subscales. Among 316 health workers, mean scores of CS, BO, STS were 36.4 (SD = 5.4), 24.9 (SD = 5.1), 25.9 (SD = 5.3), respectively, indicating moderate levels of CS, BO and STS. Participants who were older (b = 0.17, 95%CI = 0.08, 0.26), had sufficient perceived income (b = 2.59, 95%CI = 0.93, 4.24), and > 10 years of working experience (b = 2.15, 95%CI = 0.68, 3.62), had higher CS scores. Those who were older (b=-0.15, 95%CI=-0.23, -0.07), had sufficient perceived income (b=-2.64, 95%CI=-4.18, -1.09), > 10 years of experience (b=-1.38, 95%CI=-2.76, -0.01), worked in surgical department (b=-1.46, 95%CI=-2.54, -0.38) and 8 hours/day (b=-1.52, 95%CI=-2.61, -0.44), had lower BO scores. Moreover, those in a relationship (b=-2.27, 95%CI=-3.53, -1.01) and had sufficient perceived income (b=-1.98, 95%CI=-3.64, -0.32) had lower STS scores.

CONCLUSIONS

The Vietnamese version of ProQoL is valid and reliable for use among Vietnamese health workers. Age, marital status, perceived income status, years of working experience, daily working hours, and specialty was associated with at least one component of ProQoL but gender, religion, education level, and monthly income were not.

Work-related stress, job satisfaction, and quality of work life among cardiovascular nurses in Italy: Structural equation modeling

AIM

To investigate the simultaneous effects of work-related stress and job satisfaction on cardiovascular nurses' quality of work life.

BACKGROUND

Prior research has investigated nurses' work-related stress, job satisfaction, and quality of work life as separate aspects and not in specific nursing settings, such as cardiovascular wards. Cardiovascular care settings can be particularly stressful for nurses, who are often faced with distress, depression and patients and caregivers' physical and psychological exhaustion.

METHODS

A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted among 1126 cardiovascular nurses from 10 hospitals in Italy. Work-related stress, job satisfaction, and quality of work life were measured using valid and reliable questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was performed.

RESULTS

Nurses working in critical cardiac care units experienced more stress than their colleagues working in other cardiac units. Nurses working in cardiac outpatient clinics reported lower quality of work life than those working in other cardiac settings. There was a negative relationship between work-related stress and nurses' quality of work life, which was partially mediated by job satisfaction, indicating that stress generated by the work environment negatively affect nurses' quality of work life by reducing their job satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

Cardiovascular nurses' quality of work life is negatively affected by work-related stress. The work-related stress is mediated through job satisfaction. Nurse managers should maximize nurses' job satisfaction by providing comfort at work, supporting professional development opportunities, sharing organizational objectives, and actively listening and addressing nurses' concerns. When cardiovascular nurses' quality of work life is elevated, patients' care quality and outcomes are improved.

Evaluation of compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction among emergency nurses in Jordan: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Nurses working in emergency departments are overworked and exposed to frequent stressors over time, leading to compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress.

AIMS

This study aimed to assess the levels of compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction, and examine the relationship of these two variables with specific demographic, health-related, and work-related factors among emergency nurses in Jordan.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study. The Professional Quality of Life Scale Version 5 was used to collect data.

RESULTS

A convenience sampling method was used to recruit 203 registered nurses from emergency departments in Jordan. The mean compassion fatigue and satisfaction scores were moderate. There was a significant but negligible correlation between compassion satisfaction and educational levels (r = 0.15, p < 0.05) and between secondary traumatic stress and comorbid diseases (r = -0.16, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Although the levels of compassion fatigue and satisfaction were moderate, both may negatively affect nurses' care and patient outcomes. Conversely, compassion satisfaction should be improved in order to overcome the negative effects of compassion fatigue.

Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurse practitioners' professional quality of life

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 global pandemic has put health care professionals under immense pressure and hindered their ability to provide quality services.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to examine the professional quality of life (ProQOL) among Georgia nurse practitioners during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

METHODOLOGY

The ProQOL survey was distributed to nurse practitioners in Georgia by the professional organization's listserv. Multiple analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyses were performed to assess differences between employment settings, geographic location, and other relevant demographic qualifiers and levels of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress.

RESULTS

Hundred nurse practitioners (NPs) (n = 100) responded to the survey. Ninety-one percent were female and ages 25-35 years. Male NPs showed higher rates of compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress.

CONCLUSIONS

A ProQOL survey demonstrated increased burnout and secondary traumatic stress among frontline practitioners in Georgia due to increased workloads, feelings of inadequacy, fear of being infected by the virus, and prolonged exposure to deaths.

IMPLICATIONS

Ensuring effective communication, team collaboration, emotional, adequate staffing, and psychological support can help reduce compassion fatigue among NPs.

Analysis the Effect of Job Strain on Nurses' Quality of Work-Life: A Mediating and Moderating Model

BACKGROUND

One of the most important issues in all organizations is to improve performance of human resources to achieve goals. Therefore, it is necessary plans and solutions to reduce Job Strain (JS) and then increase Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCB), and Quality of Work-Life (QWL). The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of JS on QWL with mediating role of OCB and moderator of employment status.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 nurses who were non-randomly voluntary selected among nurses working in seven educational hospitals in Ahvaz, Iran. Data were collected using demographic and occupational characteristics questionnaire and JS questionnaire with 12 items, OCB with 16 items & QWL with 26 items in the 5-point Likert scale. Data analysis was performed in SPSS22 using descriptive and inferential statistics, and structural equation modeling with SmartPLS3.

RESULTS

The results indicated the mean (SD) score of 49.56 (6.68) for JS (more than normal) and 58.84 (5.94) and 49.88 (7.69) for QWL and OCB, respectively. Spearman correlation coefficients show that JS has a negative relationship with QWL (r = -0.69, p < 0.001) and OCB (r = -0.54, p = 0.008). Also, nurses' employment status (Formal and Contractual) moderates the relationship between JS, QWL, and OCB.

CONCLUSIONS

According to the results, job stress in nurses of Ahvaz hospitals was high and QWL was moderate (or less). Therefore, increased job stress leads to reduced QWL and OCBs of nurses. Also the employment Status and job security that it provides can modify this impact.

The Effects of Motivational Messages Sent to Emergency Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Job Satisfaction, Compassion Fatigue, and Communication Skills: A Randomized Controlled Trial

INTRODUCTION

During the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency nurses have been adversely affected physically, socially, and psychologically by factors such as increased workload, longer working hours, isolation from family, and limited resources. This study aimed to investigate the effect of motivational messages sent to emergency nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic on their job satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and communication skills.

METHODS

This was a randomized controlled experimental study. The study was conducted with 60 emergency nurses in 2 training and research hospitals in Istanbul between July 31 and August 31, 2021. The participants were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. Participants in the intervention group (n = 30) received daily motivational messages to their mobile phones by short message service for 21 days; those in the control group (n = 30) received no motivational messages. The Job Satisfaction Scale, Compassion Fatigue Scale, and Communication Skills Scale were administered before and after the intervention.

RESULTS

The mean age was 29.8 (SD = 7.5) and 28.7 years (SD = 6.9) in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Before the intervention, there were no significant differences in the groups' scores for job satisfaction (P = .561), compassion fatigue (P = .687), or communication skills (P = .355). After the intervention, the intervention group had significantly higher scores for job satisfaction (P < .001) and communication skills (P < .001) and significantly lower compassion fatigue scores than the control group (P < .001).

DISCUSSION

Our results suggest that motivational messages sent to emergency nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic increase job satisfaction and improve communication skills while reducing compassion fatigue.

Resilience among nurses in long term care and rehabilitation settings

BACKGROUND

Nurses practicing in long-term care or rehabilitation settings face unique challenges from prolonged or repeated exposure to stressors, given their extended time with patients. This puts them at risk for compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress, which can lead to decreased resilience and sleep problems.

AIM

The aim of this study was to examine relationships among resilience, professional quality of life, sleep, and demographics in nurses working in long-term care or rehabilitation settings, and to investigate whether demographics, professional quality of life, and sleep quality are significant predictors of nurses' resilience.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, we used the following measures: demographics, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL). Data were analyzed with SPSS v25. Data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and multiple regression.

RESULTS

Participants (N = 120) were mostly female (85%) and registered nurses (90%). Mean scores were 52.13 for resilience and 7.53 for sleep quality. Mean ProQOL subscale scores were 41.78 for compassion satisfaction, 22.28 for compassion fatigue, and 23.92 for secondary traumatic stress. Multiple regression models showed that compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress significantly predicted resilience (β = 0.69, β = -0.61, and β = -0.34, respectively, all p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Resilience is important in nurses' personal and professional lives because it helps to protect nurses from the negative consequences of stressors. Strategies, resources, and workplace support can promote self-care and resilience.

Self-Compassion and Adherence to Treatment in Patients with Cancer

Background:

Emotional disorders and depression make cancer patients reluctant about adherence to their treatment. The present study was conducted to determine the relationship between self-compassion and adherence to treatment in cancer patients.

Materials and Methods:

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 214 patients with cancer in 2019. They were inpatients aged over 18 years. Two months had passed since their cancer was diagnosed, and they had undergone a course of chemotherapy. Data were collected using a personal details form, Neff's Self-Compassion Scale and the Modanloo Adherence to Treatment Questionnaire and were then analyzed using the mean, frequency, Pearson's correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis.

Results:

The mean (SD) total score of self-compassion was 80.07 (15.68), and the mean (SD) total score of adherence to treatment was 134.44 (38.37). Pearson's correlation coefficient showed a direct relationship between the total score of self-compassion and the total score of adherence to treatment (p < 0.05). The linear regression analysis showed that the score of suffering as a common humanity (β = 0.47, p ≤ 0.001) and the variable of education (β = 0.27, p ≤ 0.001) were significant predictors of the total score of adherence to treatment (R² = 0.33).

Conclusions:

According to the results, suffering as a common humanity and education were significant predictors of adherence to treatment. Oncology nurses are therefore recommended to get further educated about self-compassion, so that they take this concept more seriously in providing patient care. Nurses should also educate the patients with low levels of education about the consequences of not adhering to their treatment.