Health and social care professionals at are risk of developing symptoms of trauma as a result of supporting traumatised individuals. This is termed secondary traumatic stress (STS; Figley, 1995). This paper reviews the predictors of STS in health and social care professionals followed by a study of the predictors of STS and burnout in paediatric nurses specifically. The literature review aimed to obtain an overview of the main risk and protective factors associated with STS. A systematic search of the literature was carried out, 68 studies met the inclusion criteria and a narrative synthesis was then conducted. The most consistent evidence suggested that increased empathy predicted STS whilst social support appeared protective. Current life stress was also associated with STS but the evidence was limited by methodological issues. Tentative evidence was found for the role of coping styles and compassion satisfaction, whilst evidence for exposure to workrelated trauma, a personal trauma history and emotional detachment was inconclusive. These are discussed in relation to clinical implications and directions for future research. The majority of research regarding predictors of STS and burnout has taken place in professionals working with adult populations and there is a lack of research regarding paediatric nurses specifically. The empirical study’s purpose was therefore to identify the predictors of these conditions in this specialist group and to clarify whether paediatric nurses working in high-mortality risk departments 3 were at greater risk. A cross-sectional survey was conducted and 84 members of nursing staff participated. Emotional empathy and current life stress significantly predicted STS, whilst both predicted burnout in addition to a lack of support and behavioural disengagement. No differences in STS or burnout levels were found between departments. Clinical implications are discussed and it is concluded that hospitals would benefit from implementing additional training to support their staff.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:588844 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Davies, Kathryn |
| Contributors | Kirby, Sarah ; Brooke, Xavier M. |
| Publisher | University of Southampton |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/359666/ |
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