Expressive Writing and Self-Care in Palliative Care Professionals: A Qualitative Longitudinal Study

Palliative care professionals are exposed to emotionally intense situations. Stress, anxiety, and burnout can impact the dimension of care through the loss of motivation. Expressive writing in the general population effectively promotes emotion regulation through meaning-making. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Expressive writing on the meaning change in the perception of traumatic professional events in multi-professional palliative care settings in Italy. We conducted a prospective study with longitudinal qualitative methodology, following an ad-hoc expressive writing protocol. The study involved the selection of 10 various palliative care professionals working in hospices, hospital palliative care units, and community palliative care. We identified six main themes that shifted meaning throughout the four writing sessions: description of the phenomena, strong emotions, health workers' elaborations, processing feelings, improvement strategies, and interior resources. Expressive writing is effective in helping palliative care professionals process intense emotions and feelings related to a traumatic event, stimulating critical self-reflection and self-care, and supporting meaning-making.