Estudio sobre la calidad de vida profesional en profesionales de enfermería del Sistema Sanitario Público de Andalucía

Resumen

Nurses are exposed to a series of stressful situations derived from the work context. In addition, they have to face scenarios of psychological suffering when they care for the sick and their families, which is detrimental to their quality of life. The quality of professional life construct encompasses two opposing dimensions. On the one hand, there would be compassion satisfaction and on the other, compassion fatigue; the latter would be made up of burnout and secondary traumatic stress. The objective of this research was to know the quality of professional life of the nurses of the Andalusian Public Health System, deepening the analysis of compassion fatigue and compassion, as an indispensable element in this construct. To achieve this objective, a multicenter study with a mixed methodology design has been carried out. In the first phase, a cross-sectional descriptive-observational or prevalence quantitative design was followed. The study sample consisted of 1,521 nurses selected from all Andalusian provinces. In the first phase, the situation of the nurses regarding their quality of professional life was analyzed. For this, a series of sociodemographic variables were analyzed and the Professional Quality of Life Assessment (ProQOL) scale was administered. The result was a high score in compassion fatigue (20.74; SD = 7.88) and a medium in compassion satisfaction (35.48; SD = 7.39) and burnout (23.44; SD = 5.29 ). The second phase of the study was developed following a qualitative methodology through a grounded theory design in the first part, to later continue with a phenomenological design. 25 interviews and 5 discussion groups were conducted, with a total of 68 participants. The information obtained from the participants in the discussion groups and in-depth interviews confirmed a negative perception of the term compassion, which was understood as a synonym for empathy, although some nurses did confirm differences between both concepts. Regarding the causes that motivated the existence of compassion fatigue, the nurses identified frustration at not being able to alleviate the suffering of the sick person, the paradigm difference between professionals and daily contact with seriously ill people. As consequences on their quality of professional life, difficulties in work, emotional and personal performance were identified, as well as the need to request a transfer of the unit or even the desire to leave the profession. In conclusion, it should be noted that to preserve the quality of professional life of nurses, a series of measures tat involve the administration itself and the professionals should be developed, such as knowing and implementing actions to promote and preserve compassion. In addition, with respect to compassion, a paradigm shift is necessary, since it is not really compassion that generates compassion fatigue, but rather an excess of empathy without the proper application of compassionate care.