Date

4-2022

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Rebecca Lindsey

Keywords

Hospice, Burnout, Faith, Compassion Fatigue, ProQOL, DSES

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

Individuals who work within hospice and palliative care experience unique stressors while providing care to patients and families at the end of life. The COVID-19 global pandemic provides additional stressors, personal and professional, which may affect these individuals. Research lacks data to understand how this pandemic affects individuals working in hospice care. Most current research focuses on individual disciplines, with the highest number of studies focusing on a nurse's experiences. Additionally, the recent research provides conflicting relationships on faith's influence on burnout, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction. Biblical guidance on burnout and compassion highlights the importance of addressing this phenomenon from a Christian worldview. This study sought to fill several gaps within research by comparing the experiences of multiple disciplines within hospice and palliative care through gathering quantitative data from the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) scale, the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES), and the COVID-19 Perceived Stress Scale (COVID-PSS-10). It solicited participation from all disciplines and gathered organizational data. This study found a small positive correlation between daily spiritual experiences and burnout and a small negative correlation between daily spiritual experiences and compassion satisfaction. Additionally, a small positive correlation was found between the perceived stress from COVID-19 and compassion fatigue. These data are significant and provide a framework for future research within larger populations.

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS