Abstract

Introduction: Maternity and gynecology professionals are exposed to distressing events, trauma and suffering that may trigger compassion fatigue. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of compassion fatigue/secondary traumatic stress (CF/STS), burnout (BO) and compassion satisfaction (CS) in maternity and gynecology care providers. Material and Methods: The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL R-IV) and a demographic and work-related characteristics questionnaire were distributed to 121 certified nurses, midwives and nurse/midwife assistants in 3 public hospitals in Greece. Results: The majority of participants were at the high-risk category for CF/STS (73.9%) while only 19.8% and 5% of nurses expressed high potential for CS and BO, respectively. Awareness of the factors associated with CF may help nurses to prevent or offset the development of this condition. Conclusion: A compassionate organizational culture, clinical supervision and on-going education may protect care providers from absorbing or internalizing unmanageable emotions which may lead to compassion fatigue and also help them to gain a deeper understanding of their communication and interactions during the emotionally laden moments of maternity and gynecology care.

Key words: Gynecology Nursing, Midwifery, Compassion fatigue, Compassion Satisfaction, Emotional work.