Nurses Compassion Fatigue in Two Southern California Systems: Strategies, Challenges, and Motivations.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Compassion fatigue (CF) is a significant emotional burden for healthcare workers, particularly nurses, resulting from sustained patient care.
• The consequences of CF are substantial, impacting both individual nurses and healthcare organizations, potentially leading to workforce attrition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the factors that facilitate, pose risks, create barriers, and strategies to manage compassion fatigue among inpatient nurses.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-method, multisite descriptive study was conducted across 16 hospitals.
• Nurses responded to open-ended survey questions regarding coping mechanisms, barriers, and facilitators.
• Descriptive thematic analysis was employed to analyze the qualitative data.

Main Results:

• Six primary themes emerged: Harmonizing Work Demands, Compassion Maintenance, Motivation to Continue in Nursing, Compassion Satisfaction Facilitators, Strategies to Reduce Stress, and Compassion Barriers.
• Key strategies identified by participants included prioritizing sleep, nutrition, spiritual practices, recreation, and social connections.
• Nurses highlighted the importance of emotional processing through venting, self-reflection, socialization, and spiritual engagement.

Conclusions:

• Understanding the multifaceted nature of CF is essential for developing targeted interventions to support nurses.
• Interventions should focus on promoting work-life balance, encouraging spiritual and recreational pursuits, and cultivating supportive work environments.
• Addressing CF can enhance nurse retention and overall job satisfaction.