Compassion Fatigue Among Critical Care Nurses and Physicians: A Scoping Review.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Provider Well-being
• Critical Care Medicine
• Psychological Stress in Healthcare

Background:

• Healthcare providers face Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) and Compassion Fatigue (CF) due to continuous engagement with critically ill patients.
• Nurses' compassion is vital for patient healing and improved care delivery.
• Burnout (BO), STS, and CF are significant concerns in critical care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate existing literature on Compassion Fatigue (CF) among critical care Nurses and Physicians.
• To examine the prevalence of Burnout (BO), STS, and CF in this population.
• To identify gaps in the understanding and management of CF.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive scoping review was conducted.
• Relevant studies were identified through Ovid Medline, CINAHL, Google Scholar, PubMed, and hand searching.
• A narrative synthesis approach was used to analyze extracted data from full-text articles.

Main Results:

• There is a lack of consensus regarding the conceptualization and operationalization of CF.
• Predictors of CF show variability across studies.
• Most studies reported low to moderate levels of CF, with only two studies indicating high scores for BO, STS, and CF.

Conclusions:

• Significant gaps exist in the literature regarding CF, necessitating further investigation.
• Despite growing recognition, the impact and preventive interventions for CF remain limited.
• Addressing CF is crucial for enhancing provider well-being, ensuring quality patient care, and fostering healthy work environments.