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The purpose of this study was to investigate social workers' impact of emotional work with their clients and what strategies they use to deal with it. Swedish research in this area is very limited. International research shows that both social workers and (primarily) healthcare professionals are emotionally affected. The importance of awareness was emphasized and the requirement for more knowledge. This study was based on seven qualitative interviews conducted with social workers. The theoretical approach included the concepts of compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction and the theory of coping-strategies. We analyzed the material thematically which resulted in the conclusion that social workers are both positively and negatively affected emotionally by their work. The impact has been shown primarily through evidence of exhaustion. Each social worker interviewed managed the negative impact of their work with individual strategies. The general strategy was to prioritize their health and create time for recovery. The results illustrated  the need for an increase in understanding of the importance of valuing the well-being of social workers. This would benefit not just social workers, but also the clients they serve.

This dissertation used a person-environment fit theoretical framework to examine the influence of person-job misfit as an organizational stressor on strain and well-being outcomes for emergency responders. Independent variables consisted of job attributes such as skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and job-based feedback. These job characteristics are often used in work redesign efforts as they are amendable to organizational change initiatives. Dependent variables included strain outcomes relevant to those working in emergency services: physical symptoms, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Also, to include a positive aspect of emergency services work, the well-being outcome of compassion satisfaction was examined. Data were collected from 358 emergency responders across the United States via online survey, including law enforcement, firefighters, police/fire/medical dispatch, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics. Methodology utilized polynomial regression analysis in which joint linear and curvilinear effects from two predictors upon one outcome correspond to a three-dimensional response surface reflecting the fit-outcome relationship. This approach allowed a detailed examination of the nature of fit and the nature of misfit for each job attribute in relation to strain and well-being. Maximum likelihood with bootstrapping was used to estimate model parameters and test response surface features. Findings identified several influential fit-outcome relationships including skill variety fit-compassion satisfaction (a1 = 0.366), task identity fit-burnout (a2 = -0.083), task significance fit-burnout (a1 = -0.241) task significance fit-compassion satisfaction (a1 = 0.496,), job-based feedback fit-physical symptoms (a1 = -3.807), job-based feedback fit-burnout (a1 = -0.323), and job-based feedback fit-compassion satisfaction (a1 = 0.391). In terms of misfit, task identity misfit was related to secondary traumatic stress (a3 = -0.209) and job-based feedback misfit was related to burnout (a3 = -0.234). Conclusions regarding identified fit-outcome relationships suggested a potential to reduce frequency of physical symptoms, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress and increase employees’ experience of compassion satisfaction by considering employees’ preference for these job characteristics. On the basis of these findings, opportunities for Emergency Services Management agencies to facilitate wellness for personnel, as well as future research directions are discussed.

No description available.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a diagnosis given after the development of maladaptive behavior following exposure to traumatic events. This is the first quantitative study regarding the Swedish emergency dispatching population (n = 97) and posttraumatic (secondary traumatic) stress. The main research question for this study was: “How prevalent are clinically significant posttraumatic stress symptoms among Swedish emergency dispatchers?”; the secondary research question formed became: “What relationship, if any, can be found between the prevalence of clinically significant posttraumatic stress symptoms and other psychological ailments such as depression and burnout?”. The study used a digital questionnaire containing the screening tests ProQoL, MADRS-S and PCL-C to examine the prevalence of symptomology among dispatchers. The participants answers are then analyzed using correlation matrices, one sample t-tests, reliability analyses and descriptives to identify correlations, prevalence rates and other statistically significant items. 57 of the 97 respondents (58.8%) reported symptoms that were above the cutoff to suspect moderate PTSD, 50 of the 97 respondents (51.5%) reported symptoms that were above the cutoff to suspect mild depression and 76 of the 97 respondents (76.3%) reported symptoms that were above the cutoff to suspect burnout. The study concludes that there is an elevated prevalence of PTSD symptoms among Swedish emergency dispatchers (Student’s t = 3.85, Cohen’s d = 0.391, p <.001) and that these symptoms are significantly and positively correlated to symptoms of burnout (r = 0.740, p < .001) and depression (r = 0.820, p < .001). / Posttraumatiskt stresstillstånd (PTSD) är en diagnos som ges efter utvecklingen av maladaptive beteende till följd av exponering till traumatiska händelser. Detta är den första kvantitativa studie som riktar sig mot den svenska nödsamtalsoperatörs populationen (n = 97) angående posttraumatisk (sekundär traumatisk) stress. Den primära frågeställningen i denna studie blev: “Hur prevalent är klinisk signifikant posttraumatiskt stressymptom hos svenska nödsamtalsoperatörer?”; den sekundära frågeställningen blev: ”Vilken relation, om någon, kan finnas mellan prevalensen av klinisk signifikanta posttraumatiska stressymptom och andra tillstånd av psykologisk ohälsa såsom depression och utmattning?”. Studien använde ett digitalt frågeformulär som innehöll screeningtesterna ProQoL, MADRS-S och PCL-C för att undersöka prevalensen av symptombilden hos nödsamtalsoperatörer.  Deltagarnas svar analyserades med hjälp av korrelationsmatriser, one sample t-tester, reliabilitets analyser samt descriptives för att identifiera korrelationer, prevalensen samt andra signifikanta statistik. 57 utav 97 respondenter (58,8%) rapporterade symptom som låg över gränsen för att misstänka måttlig PTSD, 50 utav 97 respondenter (51,5%) rapporterade symptom som låg över gränsen för att misstänka mild depression och 76 utav 97 respondenter (76,3%) rapporterade symptom som låg över gränsen för att misstänka utmattning. Studien drar slutsatsen att det finns en högre prevalens av PTSD symptom hos svenska nödsamtalsoperatörer (Student’s t = 3,85, Cohen’s d = 0,391, p <,001) samt att dessa symptom är signifikant och positivt korrelerade med symptomen för både utmattning (r = 0,740, p < ,001) och depression (r = 0,820, p < ,001).

No description available.

Sekundär traumatisk stress är ett problem inom socialt arbete. Begränsad forskning finnsangående hur det skulle kunna förebyggas samt behandlas. Syftet med litteraturöversikten vardärför att sammanställa kunskapsläget av befintlig litteratur angående faktorer som förebyggersamt behandlar sekundär traumatisk stress hos socialarbetare. Studien avsåg även att undersökavilken effekt faktorerna hade. Litteraturöversikten utgick från metodiken av en scoping review.Datamaterialet bestod av 15 vetenskapliga artiklar. Samtliga artiklar analyserades medinnehållsanalys, ytterligare gjordes en narrativ sammanställning av de kvantitativa artiklarna.Resultatet visar att individuella faktorer som att kunna hantera sina känslor i olika situationeroch sammanhang samt att utföra egenvård, är exempel på betydelsefulla förebyggande ochbehandlande faktorer. Regelbunden handledning samt stöd från chefer och medarbetare, ärexempel på organisatoriska faktorer som hade en betydande roll i det förebyggande ochbehandlande arbetet mot sekundär traumatisk stress. / The purpose of this study was to compile the state of knowledge in the existing literature aboutfactors that prevent and treat secondary traumatic stress in social workers. The study also aimedto investigate the effect of the factors. This literature review was based on the methodology ofa scoping review. The data was contained by 15 different scientific articles. All these articleswere analyzed by content analysis, and further there were a narrative compilation of thequantitative articles. The results of the study show individual factors like to be able to deal withtheir emotions in different kind of situations and contexts, and to perform selfcare, are someexamples of meaningful factors. Regular guidance and support from managers and other coworkersare some examples of important organizational factors in the prevention and treatingwork against secondary traumatic stress.

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) providers engage in uniquely relational work with high-risk families that expose them to the full advantages (i.e., compassion satisfaction [CS]) and disadvantages (e.g., burn-out [BO]) of a helper role. Though the pandemic seemed poised to escalate disadvantage, most early pandemic studies found high CS alongside elevated BO. Unfortunately, as COVID-19 has continued, CS has declined while BO has increased. Given the delayed COVID-19 impact on children, these changes may be particularly acute for IECMH providers. Using a longitudinal cohort of 27 IECMH providers, this study aimed to describe and quantify changes in professional wellbeing and contributing factors over a 12-month period (T1 – T12) from early to mid-pandemic. Little changed from T1 to T12 for IECMH provider CS (M = 41.33 vs. M = 41.08) or BO (M = 22.22 vs. M = 22.65) scores. Variables known to contribute to CS similarly held when T1 was compared to T12, but they fluctuated considerably and non-linearly between these time points. Variable relationships with CS also changed over time necessitating an adjusted hierarchal regression model. This model accounted for 20% of variance in T12 CS. Pandemic experiences like loss are reported; needs/supports are summarized using content analysis. Results underscore the importance of cohort, multi-time point design and the need for non-linear analysis to contextualize the interplay of shared and individual experiences within COVID-19. Implications for maintaining IECMH professional wellbeing moving forward and improving the health of other fields are discussed.

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Background: Compassion-fatigue is a condition which therapists are forced into as a consequence of the nature of their work. The phenomenon has historically, and to some extent currently, been described as secondary trauma, vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress and burnout. The goal of this paper is to bring clarity as to what the phenomenon is and how it has been used in research, how common it is, what factors have been identified in the research that increase or decrease risk of developing it and lastly if any attempts have been made to develop a specific approach in preventing and/or treating the condition. Method: This current paper is a scoping review with a systematic approach.12 published studies, quantitative and qualitative in nature, were included and passed for review. Results: The result of the review indicates a deficit in data regarding prevalence of the phenomenon in the population and a general lack of randomized and experimental data. Most of the published studies were exploring psychologist experiences and secondarily attempting to identify factors predicting the development of compassion-fatigue. In conclusion, the phenomenon, regardless of what term is used, seems to be clearly delineated from conditions more akin to exhaustion and depression. Discussion: According to this study compassion-fatigue seems to be a condition that is sparked by the extraneous use of one’s empathic abilities past a tolerable point. Increased exposure by psychologists to work with patients with trauma may increase the risk of developing compassion-fatigue. It is still unknown what the mechanisms are that causes the condition and its prevalence among the population and further research, preferably randomized and experimental with comparison groups, is needed in order for this area to be fully mapped and explained.