Burnout and compassion fatigue among organ donation coordinators: a scoping review protocol

The objective of this review is to develop a comprehensive description of burnout and compassion fatigue, including risk/protective factors, among organ and tissue donation coordinators worldwide.

Research on turnover rates among organ and tissue donation coordinators has shown that job tenure generally lasts less than three years, a possible consequence of burnout and compassion fatigue. Increased turnover rates of organ and tissue donation coordinators have significant impact on the ability of ODOs to optimize organ donation. This current scoping review will help inform understanding of the nature of burnout and compassion fatigue in this population as well as the available strategies for managing it.

Articles examining health care professionals working as organ and tissue donation coordinators, with the main concepts of interest being burnout and/or compassion fatigue, will be considered. Articles within the context of organ and tissue donation coordinators in acute care settings at any part of the organ donation process will also be considered for inclusion in this review. Quantitative and qualitative studies, text and opinion papers, unpublished material (eg, unpublished research data, reports, institutional protocols, government documents) provided by researchers in the organ donation field worldwide will also be examined for possible inclusion.

The scoping review will be performed in accordance with JBI methodology. Published and unpublished papers from 1980 to the present will be searched. Databases will include MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL, Embase, LILACS, PsycINFO, and PTSDpubs, while appropriate gray literature will be searched. Two reviewers will screen the papers according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, extract data for specific variables, and perform descriptive examination.