Investigation of the Relationship between in Care Difficulties and Compassion Fatigue of Palliative Care Nurses

Abstract

Objective: It is to examine the relationship between in care difficulties and compassion fatigue of palliative care nurses

Method: This study is descriptive type, and it was conducted between 1-15 April 2021. The questionnaire scales were sent to the nurses online. 105 nurses who answered to the forms were included in the study. In collection of data were used the Personal Information Form, Palliative Care Difficulties Scale (PCDS), and Compassion Fatigue Short Scale (CF-SS).

Results: Average age of palliative care nurses 29.43±7.16, mean the working year was determined to be 2.88±2.46. It was determined that 80% of the nurses were women, 45.7% were married, and 74.3% were undergraduates. PCDS total score average 43.98±8.27; Communication sub-dimension 8.74 in multidisciplinary teams±2.27, patient and family communication sub-dimension 9.64±2.57, expert support sub-dimension 7.61±2.28, symptom reduction sub-dimension 9.47±2.73 and communication coordination sub-dimension 8.49±It was found to be 2.51. CF-SS total score average 65.34±21.68; secondary trauma sub-dimension 25.65±10.49 and occupational burnout sub-dimension 39.68±was found to be 13.48. It was found that as compassion fatigue and professional burnout levels of nurses increased, symptom management in palliative care was found to become more difficult (p<0.05).

Conclusion: It was found that the compassion fatigue and care difficulty of the palliative care nurses were moderate. It was found that as the nurse’s professional burnout and compassion fatigue level increased, symptom management in palliative care became more difficult.