• Takaki Fukumori, Atsuko Miyazaki, Chihiro Takaba, Saki Taniguchi, and Mariko Asai.
• Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan. Electronic address: t.fukumori@tokushima-u.ac.jp.
• J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Feb 1; 59 (2): 254-260.

ContextCancer care nurses are frequently exposed to patients' traumatic experiences and are at high risk of compassion fatigue.ObjectivesTo describe the components and frequencies of traumatic events experienced by patients with cancer, which give rise to nurse compassion fatigue.MethodsThis study is a supplementary analysis of data from a previous qualitative study. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 30 Japanese nurses, with at least two years of experience in cancer care and a history of compassion fatigue. Content analysis and constant comparison was used to identify relevant subcategories and categories. The frequencies of these subcategories and categories were then evaluated.ResultsEleven subcategories and four categories were identified. The kappa coefficient of these subcategories, determined by two independent raters, was 0.89. Subcategories with the highest frequencies among participants were as follows: having symptoms of cancer progression (n = 20; 67%), suffering because of insufficient pain control (n = 11; 37%), and being informed about getting cancer (n = 10; 33%). The four categories were as follows: worsening of physical condition (n = 20; 67%), bad news from doctors (n = 19; 63%), difficulty in treatment (n = 18; 60%), and emotional conflict with family (n = 6; 20%).ConclusionThis study identified the components and frequencies of traumatic events among patients with cancer that lead to the onset of nurse compassion fatigue. Such information will aid in understanding the triggers of compassion fatigue, allowing for possible preparation to reduce the risk of this occupational hazard.Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

14 keywords...

hide…