Working With War-Affected Populations: Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Ukrainian Mental Health Professionals

Abstract

Background:

Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) professionals in healthcare, education, social welfare, and NGOs are expected to deliver quality care to war-affected populations, despite often sharing similar traumatic exposures that can impact their own well-being.

Aims:

We aimed to explore the unique contributions of both demographic factors (i.e. age, gender, education, place of residence, and personal experience of displacement) as well as professional factors (i.e. years in practice, involvement in direct service provision, area of practice, and group of clients) to the PQL of MHPSS professionals.

Methods:

A cross-sectional survey of over 5,500 MHPSS professionals in Ukraine was conducted. It included the ProQOL scale, demographic questions, and inquiries about training needs for delivering effective wartime MHPSS.

Results:

Severe burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS) were rare (0.1% and 0.3%), but moderate levels were common (49.1% and 56.5%). Compassion satisfaction (CS) was generally high, with 80.1% scoring in the moderate range and 18.2% in the high range. Female professionals reported both higher STS and higher CS than males. Interestingly, professionals in active combat zones during 2022 showed lower burnout and STS, and higher CS. Higher education levels were associated with greater burnout and STS. Direct service providers experienced lower burnout and higher CS. Working with children, military personnel, and domestic violence survivors correlated with reduced burnout and improved CS.

Conclusions:

These findings suggest that engaging in meaningful work during crises can enhance professional well-being. As the war in Ukraine continues into its third year, understanding what supports compassion satisfaction and mitigates compassion fatigue is vital to maintaining effective mental health care for affected populations.