How Do Fear of Violence and Exposure to Violence Affect Compassion Fatigue in Healthcare Workers?

Abstract

The study aims to explore how violence impacts compassion fatigue among healthcare workers, focusing specifically on violence perpetrated by patients and their relatives. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 860 healthcare professionals in Turkey between October 2023 and March 2024. The online questionnaire included scales measuring fear of violence, exposure to violence, and compassion fatigue. The fear and exposure to violence addressed in the study covers verbal, physical, and psychological violence experienced by healthcare workers. The data were analyzed in SPSS 27 package program. It has been observed that women experience a higher fear of violence and compassion fatigue than men. Health professionals working in featured units (emergency service, operating room, intensive care) were more exposed to violence and had a higher fear of violence. It was also observed that compassion fatigue was higher in these individuals. In addition, employees who have been working for more than 10 years were found to have a lower fear of violence than those who have been working for less than 10 years, but a higher level of compassion fatigue. The analysis revealed that fear of violence, exposure to violence, gender, and work experience together predicted 31.8% of the variance in compassion fatigue. Higher levels of fear of violence and greater exposure to violence were both associated with increased compassion fatigue. Similarly, participants with longer work experience tended to report higher levels of compassion fatigue. In contrast, being a man was associated with lower levels of compassion fatigue. These findings highlight the potential importance of violence prevention strategies in healthcare settings as a means of reducing compassion fatigue among healthcare workers.