A Wellness Program to Decrease Pediatric Postanesthesia Care Unit Staff Compassion Fatigue

Area of Science:

• Nursing and Healthcare Management
• Occupational Health and Wellness
• Psychology and Behavioral Health

Background:

• Healthcare workers, particularly in pediatrics, face significant risks of compassion fatigue (CF).
• Compassion satisfaction (CS) is a crucial factor in healthcare professional well-being.
• Wellness programs (WP) are potential interventions to mitigate CF and boost CS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate a wellness program (WP) in a pediatric postanesthesia care unit.
• To assess the WP's effectiveness in reducing compassion fatigue (CF) and increasing compassion satisfaction (CS).
• To measure changes in self-care, healthy behaviors, and overall job satisfaction among participants.

Main Methods:

• A wellness program (WP) was implemented in a pediatric postanesthesia care unit.
• Pre- and post-intervention surveys were used to evaluate the program's impact.
• Surveys assessed compassion fatigue (CF), compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and overall satisfaction.

Main Results:

• The wellness program (WP) led to significant decreases in compassion fatigue (CF) and increases in compassion satisfaction (CS).
• Participants reported improvements in self-care, healthy behaviors, and knowledge of CF.
• Perceptions of teamwork, morale, recognition, social support, and positive coworker interactions also increased, with 77% believing the WP reduced CF.

Conclusions:

• Implementing a comprehensive wellness program (WP) is beneficial for healthcare professionals.
• The WP, incorporating social support, education, and healthy behaviors, effectively reduced compassion fatigue (CF).
• Such programs contribute to improved well-being and job satisfaction among pediatric healthcare workers.