NURSES’ COPING STRATEGIES WITH COMPASSION FATIGUE : A Literature Review
Solomon, Joseph (2014)
Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu
2014
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2014070313292
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2014070313292
Tiivistelmä
The need for more research to answer the question, “Which of the strategies nurses use in coping with compassion fatigue are most helpful?” has been identified (Yoder 2010). The purpose of this study was to find out helpful strategies that are being employed in coping with compassion fatigue among nurses of different areas of speciality.
Three research questions were formulated and answered: What are the strategies that are being employed among nurses in coping with compassion fatigue? In which specialities of the nursing profession have these coping strategies been reported as helpful? What are nurses’ perceptions of the helpfulness of the strategies used among them in coping with compassion fatigue?
A predefined review plan guided the implementation of the study. Seven articles were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria from electronic articles published within the last decade. Data was extracted, analysed and synthesised using a narrative approach.
A total of twenty distinct coping strategies were identified: Seven personal coping strategies (e.g. self-care and introspection) and thirteen work-related coping strategies (e.g. debriefing and developing supportive professional relationships). The coping strategies were being employed by nurses in paediatric, adult, and geriatric settings.
There is an overall insufficiency of research investigating the ways nurses can cope with the insidious phenomenon of compassion fatigue. The key to combating compassion fatigue lies in the incorporation of the most helpful strategies into a single easy -to-do interventional programme that can fit into nurses’ already busy schedules. More understanding of compassion fatigue coping strategies must be sought after in order to help nurses acquire the resilience they need in their job, and to flourish in compassionate care.
Three research questions were formulated and answered: What are the strategies that are being employed among nurses in coping with compassion fatigue? In which specialities of the nursing profession have these coping strategies been reported as helpful? What are nurses’ perceptions of the helpfulness of the strategies used among them in coping with compassion fatigue?
A predefined review plan guided the implementation of the study. Seven articles were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria from electronic articles published within the last decade. Data was extracted, analysed and synthesised using a narrative approach.
A total of twenty distinct coping strategies were identified: Seven personal coping strategies (e.g. self-care and introspection) and thirteen work-related coping strategies (e.g. debriefing and developing supportive professional relationships). The coping strategies were being employed by nurses in paediatric, adult, and geriatric settings.
There is an overall insufficiency of research investigating the ways nurses can cope with the insidious phenomenon of compassion fatigue. The key to combating compassion fatigue lies in the incorporation of the most helpful strategies into a single easy -to-do interventional programme that can fit into nurses’ already busy schedules. More understanding of compassion fatigue coping strategies must be sought after in order to help nurses acquire the resilience they need in their job, and to flourish in compassionate care.