Abstract

Background: Paediatric ICU doctors and nurses’ quality of professional life is influenced by the intense emotions and distress experienced when caring for suffering children and their families. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of compassion satisfaction (CS) and compassion fatigue (CF) in Paediatric Intensive Care Units in Greece. Methods: Out of 147 intensive care professionals in public hospitals in Greece completed the ProQOL-V scale as well as a socio-demographic and professional-life characteristics questionnaire. Results: Almost two thirds of participants reported medium-risk for CF (74.8%) while 23.1% and 76.9% of professionals expressed high or medium potential for CS respectively. More than half of doctors and nurses in paediatric ICUs report being overprotective towards members of the family as a result of their professional life and that their work-life affects their attitude towards life in general. Conclusion: Recognizing factors related to CF may support paediatric intensive care professionals in avoiding the costs of exposure to the trauma and loss experiences of patients and their families. A trauma-informed intensive care culture and continuing trauma-informed education may shield professionals from the erosive effects of lingering emotions which may trigger secondary traumatic stress symptoms and also facilitate adequate reflection on their emotional reactions in the landscape of intensive care.

Key words: Paediatric intensive care unit, trauma, compassion fatigue, secondary posttraumatic stress.