Reducing the "cost of caring" in cancer care: Evaluation of a pilot interprofessional compassion fatigue resiliency programme.

Reducing the "cost of caring" in cancer care: Evaluation of a pilot interprofessional compassion fatigue resiliency programme. J Interprof Care. 2017 May 04;:1-8 Authors: Pfaff KA, Freeman-Gibb L, Patrick LJ, DiBiase R, Moretti O Abstract Compassion fatigue (CF) is a combination of secondary traumatic stress and burnout. Empathy becomes depleted among professional caregivers due to repeated exposure to emotional pain. Negative effects include decreased general wellbeing, impaired caregiver health and diminished team functioning. Intervention is needed to support caregiver quality of life and team relationships in high-stress work environments. This pilot study evaluated the impact of a pilot CF resiliency (CFR) programme on interprofessional staff at a regional cancer centre. An embedded experimental mixed-methods design was employed to evaluate a 6-week formalised CFR intervention. We measured CF satisfaction, burnout, clinical stress and silencing responses pre- and post-intervention. Focus group and individual interviews were conducted mid-programme and at end-programme completion to understand participants' views about how the programme affected their experiences of CF. Qualitative and quantitative data were analysed separately and merged to produce the overall findings. Participants reported reduced clinical stress at programme completion (t = 3.5; p = .005). This finding may be explained by participants' ability to identify...
Source: Journal of Interprofessional Care - Category: Health Management Tags: J Interprof Care Source Type: research