Prevalence and predictors of compassion fatigue, burnout and compassion satisfaction among oncology nurses: A cross-sectional survey
Introduction
Cancer is a leading cause of death around the globe, accounting for 22% of all non-communicable disease deaths in 2012 (World Health Organization, 2013). In China, approximately 3.5 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year (Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). The increased incidence clearly requires a greater number of experienced oncology nurses, but a growing staff shortage is a serious problem in Chinese nursing (Yun et al., 2010).
Cancer patients experience long-term suffering and manifest diverse symptoms (Quinal et al., 2009). The deterioration of their health and repeated hospital admissions usually cause physical and psychological agony for the patients (Bush, 2009). Therefore, it is inevitable that oncology nurses witness all of this suffering and offer necessary nursing care and psychological supports. Moreover, the loss of a patient may be an emotional shock for the nurses, because a mutual caring relationship is gradually established (Fetter, 2012). All these factors can greatly affect incumbent oncology nurses.
The term “professional quality of life” refers to “the quality one feels in relation to their work as a helper” (Stamm, 2010) and covers both positive and negative aspects. It can reflect the comprehensive quality of caring work that oncology nurses experience. However, most studies in China have focused on the subjects of burnout, turnover rate, and similar issues among oncology nurses, and few studies have examined the professional quality of life in this population. Given the significance of this topic, the aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence and potential predictors of the three aspects of professional quality of life among Chinese oncology nurses to deepen our knowledge of work-related stress and help nursing administrators focus on the well-being of the individuals within this special group.
Section snippets
Current situation of oncology nursing in China
Chinese cancer patients and their relatives usually try their best to seek positive treatments upon receiving a cancer diagnosis. Because of the current medical system and less-developed hospice care situation in China, many cancer patients in terminal stages choose tertiary or secondary hospitals for medical services. Both choices lead to a high demand for oncology nursing care. In this context, institutions have begun to train oncology clinical nurse specialists; however, there is still a
Sample and setting
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Shanghai, China, from March to June 2013. Convenience and cluster sampling was used to select study participants, who were clinical oncology nurses from five secondary hospitals and ten tertiary hospitals. To be eligible, they needed to work in the oncology department, directly care for cancer patients and have more than 1 year of nursing experience in oncology. Head nurses or nurse educators responsible for nursing management/teaching and nurses who
Demographic and work-related characteristics of the participants
Table 1 shows the demographic and work-related data of all 650 subjects. The age of the participants ranged from 19 to 55 (29.8 ± 6.0) years. The participants practiced an average of 8.6 (±6.7) years, including 6.7 (±5.3) years of oncology nursing.
Prevalence of compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue and burnout
The mean (SD) scores for the dimensions of compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue and burnout were 31.81 (6.49), 21.39 (4.84), and 21.14 (4.95), respectively. The median scores (interquartile range) were 32.00 (28.00–36.00), 21.00 (18.00–24.00),
Discussion
The Chinese version of the Professional Quality of Life Scale for Nurses was used to measure professional quality of life in our study. When compared with Shen et al.’s study (2015), which used the same scale and focused on Chinese clinical nurses in Shanghai from different specialties, our findings showed that oncology nurses reported lower compassion satisfaction, but higher compassion fatigue and burnout. In addition to the heavy workload and long-term mutual relationships, these
Conclusions
With the guidance of two theories, our study explored the prevalence and possible predictors of the three constructs of professional quality of life among Chinese oncology nurses. Work-related factors, such as the work hospitals and years of clinical nursing experience may have predictive value. Cognitive empathy, support and training from organizations acted as protective predictors, while passive coping and neuroticism appeared to place nurses at higher risk of compassion fatigue and burnout.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding from the Graduate School, Second Military Medical University; the nursing administrators in the enrolled hospitals for permitting and facilitating the investigation; and all 650 participants for responding to the survey.
Conflict of interest: None declared.
Funding: This study was supported by the Doctorate Innovative Fund from the Graduate School, Second Military Medical University.
Ethical approval: The ethical approval was given by the Ethics
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