Challenges to Compassion for Patients Considered 'Difficult' to Care for: A Qualitative Content Analysis

Area of Science:

• Healthcare delivery
• Qualitative research
• Compassionate care

Background:

• Compassionate care is vital in healthcare.
• Understanding challenges faced by healthcare professionals is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
• Previous research has not fully explored the multifaceted barriers to providing compassionate care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore healthcare professionals' experiences in providing compassionate care.
• To identify challenging care situations and contributing factors.
• To inform strategies for enhancing compassionate healthcare delivery.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional qualitative study involving 878 healthcare professionals in New Zealand.
• Anonymous online survey conducted from February to May 2022.
• Content analysis of 115 detailed narrative responses, guided by the Transactional Model of Physician Compassion and COREQ guidelines.

Main Results:

• Three major themes emerged: fragmented services/resource constraints, clinician compassion needs/motivations, and patient-related challenges.
• Over 90% of narratives indicated barriers linked to interconnected patient, clinician, clinical, and systemic factors.
• Challenges were rarely solely due to individual patient influences.

Conclusions:

• Barriers to compassionate care are embedded in systemic, clinician, and patient domains.
• Complex interactions among factors necessitate multilevel interventions for equitable care.
• Findings highlight the need for interprofessional collaboration and resilience-building strategies.