Open Access

ARTICLE

Determination of the Relationship between Empathy and Compassion Fatigue in Pediatric Clinic Nurses

Dilek Akıncı¹, Hacer Çetin², Serpil Yılmaz^3,*
1 Pediatric Intensive Care Clinic, Mersin University Hospital, Mersin University, Mersin, 33110, Türkiye
2 Faculty of Nursing, Mersin University, Mersin, 33110, Türkiye
3 Faculty of Health Sciences, Hitit University, Çorum, 19200, Türkiye
* Corresponding Author: Serpil Yılmaz. Email:

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2024.056935

Received 02 August 2024; Accepted 08 October 2024; Published online 15 November 2024

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to determine the relationship between compassion fatigue and empathic disposition and skill levels of pediatric clinic nurses. Methods: This research was carried out as a descriptive and cross-sectional study. The research was carried out with 233 nurses determined by using a stratified sampling method from 648 nurses working in two University Hospital and two City Hospital children’s clinics. Data were collected using the “Personal Information Form”, “Compassion Scale (CS)”, “Empathic Tendency Scale (ETS)” and “Empathic Skill Scale (ESS)”. Pearson Correlation test, Student’s t-test, ANOVA test, and Scheffe test were used in the analysis of the data. Results: The mean age of the nurses participating in the study was 30.93 ± 6.23 years, 81.1% were women and 54.9% were married. Pediatric clinic nurses’ mean compassion score was 96.29 ± 11.64, empathic tendency mean score was 69.30 ± 8.39, and empathic skill mean score was 140.82 ± 23.15. According to the findings obtained, the mean compassion score of the male, married, and nurses who were not satisfied with working in the pediatric clinics and working in the pediatric emergency clinics was found to be the lowest (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.001). The empathic disposition mean scores of the nurses working in the pediatric inpatient clinics, who were satisfied with working in the pediatric clinic, and who did not have the thought of moving to another clinic, were found to be significantly higher (p < 0.01, p < 0.001). The mean scores of empathic skills of nurses working only during the daytime were found to be significantly higher (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study confirms that pediatric clinic nurses are experiencing compassion fatigue at the end of COVID-19 and how this situation negatively affects their empathic tendencies and skills. The study highlights the need for both clinical and management-based planning to prevent compassion fatigue and increase empathic tendencies and skills in Pediatric clinic nurses.

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Keywords

Pediatric clinic; compassion fatigue; empathy; nursing; care

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