Aims: To explore how Australian oncology nurses perceive and experience compassion fatigue when caring for adult cancer patients, how they mitigate compassion fatigue and identify potential interventions to address compassion fatigue.
Design: A qualitative, descriptive study.
Methods: Twenty Australian oncology nurses caring for adult cancer patients were interviewed between August and September 2023. Participants were recruited from a larger, quantitative study. Interviews were conducted virtually, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis.
Results: Three themes and nine sub-themes were identified. Participants viewed heavy workloads, low staffing and organisational support as contributing factors to compassion fatigue. They described compassion fatigue as a feeling of having nothing left to give, impacting their ability to self-care, deliver quality patient care and maintain relationships. The pride participants felt in their cancer care work helped mitigate compassion fatigue. Self-care strategies, workplace mentoring and support were identified as ways to mitigate compassion fatigue.
Conclusion: The work of oncology nurses can contribute to compassion fatigue, which may impact nurses and patient care. Organisations would benefit from supporting staff to engage in self-care activities, professional development and mentoring.
Implications For Professional: Findings support a multi-tiered approach to addressing compassion fatigue among oncology nurses. Organisations can prioritise adequate staffing levels, mentoring opportunities, focused well-being interventions and provide avenues for meaningful recognition.
Reporting Method: This study adheres to the COREQ reporting guidelines.
Patient Or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jan.16733 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Digital Mindfulness Training for Burnout Reduction in Physicians: Clinician-Driven Approach.
JMIR Form Res
January 2025
Brown University, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Providence, RI, United States.
Background: Physician burnout is widespread in health care systems, with harmful consequences on physicians, patients, and health care organizations. Mindfulness training (MT) has proven effective in reducing burnout; however, its time-consuming requirements often pose challenges for physicians who are already struggling with their busy schedules.
Objective: This study aimed to design a short and pragmatic digital MT program with input from clinicians specifically to address burnout and to test its efficacy in physicians.
The relationship between compassion fatigue, engagement and decent work among nurses: a cross-sectional study.
BMC Nurs
January 2025
Afliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310007, Zhejiang, China.
Background: Nurses face significant professional challenges arising from global pandemics, inadequate welfare protection, and declining social status. In this context, the decent working conditions for nurses are not adequately safeguarded. This study examines decent work status among Chinese nurses and its links work engagement, and compassion fatigue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNegative effects of adverse childhood experiences and absence of positive childhood experiences on healthcare employees: survey findings built on 10 years of trauma-informed development.
Front Public Health
January 2025
Department of Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, United States.
Introduction: Existing data on how history of trauma and adversity affects healthcare professionals is limited. This study sought to describe the prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) and their association with present-day workplace and wellbeing outcomes among a sample of healthcare teammates overall, as well as specifically among nurses. The paper also describes local trauma-informed care initiatives that supported study feasibility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPalliative care is an important part of health services. The individualized care perceptions are is critical for supporting individuality during care and providing quality nursing care. Individualized care not only has, as well as having foundation of the philosophy of nursing but also, is also related to the nurses' empathic tendencies and professional quality of life of nurses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStigma and the Inverse Care Law: Experiences of 'Care' for People Living in Marginalised Conditions.
Sociol Health Illn
January 2025
Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
This paper explores the connection between stigma and the Inverse Care Law (ICL) by focussing on the idea that people who have the greatest needs often have the least support from healthcare services. Twenty-four semi-structured interviews were undertaken with people who used class A & B illicit drugs, in the northeast of England. Many of the people in this study who used illicit drugs were not able to access quality healthcare in a timely way to meet their needs because of structural and relational stigma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!