Professional quality of life, self‐compassion, resilience, and empathy in healthcare professionals during COVID‐19 crisis in Spain

Background: Dealing with suffering, grief, and death on a daily basis, together with the particular working conditions, may produce high levels of burnout in nurses, and hinder their well-being. The purpose of this research is to study the effect of self-care and self-compassion on nurses’ professional quality of life and well-being. Methods: The research had a cross-sectional design, used correlational methodology and a structural equation model was hypothesized. Along the study, 210 nurses from the Healthcare Public System of the Balearic Islands, participated. The study took place from June to September 2018. Results: The hypothesized model showed an overall adequate fit. Practice environment predicted both self-care and self-compassion, whereas nursing stress did not. Self-care and self-compassion predicted nurses’ professional quality of life, whereas the practice environment and nursing stress were not predictors. Finally, professional quality of life showed a positive relationship with life satisfaction. Conclusions: The study presents a comprehensive structural equation model in which self-care and self-compassion are the best predictors of nurses’ professional quality of life. A direct relation of professional quality of life and nurses’ well-being has also been found, while controlling for the effects of nurses’ practice environment and stress.

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Professional Quality of Life, Engagement, and Self-Care in Healthcare Professionals in Ecuador during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9050515 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 515

Author(s):

María Elena Cuartero-Castañer ◽

Paula Hidalgo-Andrade ◽

Ana J. Cañas-Lerma

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Work Engagement ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Self Care ◽

Life Questionnaire ◽

Professional Quality Of Life ◽

Professional Quality ◽

Care Practices

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of healthcare workers and their professional quality of life. This quantitative cross-sectional study aims at exploring the professional quality of life, work engagement, and self-care of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador. A convenience sample of 117 participants completed an online voluntary and anonymous survey between April and July 2020. It contained a sociodemographic section, the Professional Quality of Life questionnaire V, the work engagement scale, and the scale of self-care behaviors for clinical psychologists. Results show that healthcare workers have an average quality of life with high levels of compassion satisfaction and average levels of compassion fatigue and burnout. Data also indicate that the sample frequently engaged in self-care practices and had high levels of work engagement. The regression analyses reveal that gender, the number of patients per week, the perceived fairness of the salary, among other variables are possible predictors of professional quality of life, frequency of self-care practices, and engagement. This study contributes to the understanding of these variables among healthcare professionals in Ecuador. These results should be considered when planning policies and prevention intervention efforts to promote professionals’ wellbeing.

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Professional quality of life and resilience in emergency department healthcare professionals during COVID-19 in Hong Kong: A cross-sectional study

Hong Kong Journal of Emergency Medicine ◽

10.1177/10249079211049128 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102490792110491

Author(s):

Cho Lee Wong ◽

Bun Young ◽

Berachah Sze Chung Lui ◽

Alice Wai Yi Leung ◽

Jerome Lok Tsun So

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Emergency Department ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Traumatic Stress ◽

Secondary Traumatic Stress ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Compassion Satisfaction ◽

Professional Quality Of Life ◽

Professional Quality

Background: The professional quality of life of healthcare professionals in emergency departments may be compromised during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: This study aims to examine professional quality of life and resilience as well as their relationships among emergency department healthcare professionals in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design. Healthcare professionals (doctors and nurses) working in emergency departments in Hong Kong were recruited via snowball sampling. The Professional Quality of Life Scale, version 5, and the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale were used to assess their positive (compassion satisfaction) and negative (secondary traumatic stress and burnout) aspects of professional quality of life and self-reported resilience. Socio-demographics and work-related characteristics were also analysed. Results: A total of 106 participants provided valid responses. The results showed an overall moderate level of compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress and burnout among emergency department healthcare professionals. The mean score of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale was 23.8. Backward linear regression analyses revealed self-reported resilience was the only significant predictor of compassion satisfaction (regression coefficient B = 0.875; p < 0.001), secondary traumatic stress (B = −0.294, p < 0.001) and burnout (B = −0.670; p < 0.001), explaining 70.6%, 18.5% and 59.8% of total variance, respectively. Conclusion: Emergency department healthcare professionals in Hong Kong experienced an overall moderate level of professional quality of life during the COVID-19 outbreak. Those with a higher level of self-reported resilience had better compassion satisfaction and lower levels of secondary traumatic stress and burnout. The results support the importance of developing interventions that foster resilience among this group of emergency department healthcare professionals to combat COVID-19.

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The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on ICU Healthcare Professionals: A Mixed Methods Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18179243 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (17) ◽

pp. 9243

Author(s):

Cristina Moreno-Mulet ◽

Noemí Sansó ◽

Alba Carrero-Planells ◽

Camelia López-Deflory ◽

Laura Galiana ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Self Report ◽

Professional Quality Of Life ◽

Professional Quality ◽

Distress Scale ◽

The Impact

The large numbers of patients admitted to intensive care units due to COVID-19 has had a major impact on healthcare professionals. The incidence of mental health disorders among these professionals has increased considerably and their professional quality of life has suffered during the pandemic. This study aims to explore the impact of the provision of COVID-19 patient care on ICU healthcare professionals. A mixed methods study with an exploratory concurrent design was conducted between June and November 2020 in the Balearic Islands, Spain. Data were collected using a self-report online survey (n = 122) based on three validated questionnaires, and individual semi-structured in-depth online interviews (n = 11). Respondents scored 2.5 out of 5 on the moral distress scale, moderate/high on the compassion satisfaction scale, and moderate on the burnout and compassion fatigue subscales. Age was significantly and negatively related to professional quality of life but was positively related to workload and unavailability of protective equipment. Three main groups of themes relating to the impact of the pandemic emerged from the in-depth interviews: (a) clinical, (b) professional, and (c) personal and family impacts in the two waves. ICU healthcare professionals should be viewed as second victims of the COVID-19 pandemic as they have suffered significant psychological, professional, and moral harm.

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