Education as an Intervention of Compassion Fatigue
Condition: Normal Volunteer
MeSH terms: Compassion Fatigue
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact education has on reducing compassion
      fatigue in Oncology Clinical Research Nurses.
    

Detailed description: 
      Slatten, Carson, and Carson (2011) describe compassion fatigue as "an occupational hazard for
      those in the helping professions and is a natural consequence of working with people who have
      experienced extremely stressful events" (p. 327). Compassion fatigue (CF) is a condition that
      can affect one's physical, emotional, and social well-being. CF can exist or be misunderstood
      as burnout, defined as the "inability to cope with job stress, displays symptoms such as
      emotional exhaustion, and reduced personal and professional accomplishments" (Maslach,
      Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001). The term Secondary Traumatic stress has been used within the
      literature to describe nurses' exposure to the traumatic situations of patients and is often
      used interchangeably with compassion fatigue (Beck, 2011; Flarity, Gentry, & Mesinkoof,
      2013), but is contrasted by compassion satisfaction (CS): the pleasure that nurses derive
      from the ability to perform work well (Stamm, 2009). Slatten et al., (2011) described
      compassion fatigue as a natural consequence of nursing: therefore, prevention of exposure
      should not be the focus of any intervention. The Literature review has identified that nurses
      should be educated about risk factors and coping strategies to combat compassion fatigue.

      Neville and Cole (2013) describe incentives for organizations to proactively prevent CF, they
      explained:

      The care patients receive from nurses is one of the most significant predictors of patient
      satisfaction and is a quality indicator of overall healthcare performance. Research
      demonstrates that nurses' perception of work environment and patient satisfaction are highly
      correlated; thus, measures to enhance nurses' ability to deliver excellent care and to thrive
      in their work environments are of paramount importance to healthcare institutions (p. 349).

      Most patients on clinical trials have tried standard of care treatment unsuccessfully. Little
      is known, due to the lack of research, demonstrating the impact of CF, CS or Burnout on CRNs
      and BMT Nurses. Both nursing populations' work closely with oncology patients, either during
      or following participation on a clinical trial, developing a close relationship with the
      patients and their families. The nurses are at risk for exposure to emotionally disturbing
      patient outcomes that can be detrimental on psychological health. One-third of the Hematology
      and Solid Tumor clinical trials at City of Hope National Medical Center are phase 1 trials,
      which are to determine dose limiting toxicity with the intent of improving patient outcomes.
      Nurses are providing patient care to individuals with a poor prognosis, after repeat exposure
      to emotional pain, the CRN and BMT Nurse leave the organization due to intolerance of
      suffering.

      This project is important to teach nurses how to recognize and manage CF. The educational
      intervention could reduce nurse turnover, increase morale, and improve patient satisfaction,
      all of which could be a cost savings to the organization.
    

Intervention name(s): Educational intervention
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): Presentation of risk factors, signs and symptoms, and interventions on compassion fatigue
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Screening