Losing compassion for patients? The implications of COVID-19 on compassion fatigue and event-related post-traumatic stress disorder in nurses


Hochwarter W. Jordan S. Kiewitz C. Liborius P. Lampaki A. Franczak J. Deng Y. Babalola M.T. Khan A.K.
15 March 2022Emerald Group Holdings Ltd.

Journal of Managerial Psychology
2022#37Issue 3206 - 223 pp.

Purpose: The authors investigated a psychological process that links characteristics of events related to the coronavirus disease (2019) COVID-19 pandemic (i.e. perceived novelty, disruptiveness and criticality) to compassion fatigue [(CF), a form of caregiver burnout] and subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in nurses. Design/methodology/approach: Administering two online surveys (October and November 2020) resulted in matched data from 175 nurses responsible for patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings: Perceived disruptiveness and criticality of COVID-19 events were positively associated with nurses CF, which also mediated those characteristics effects on PTSD instigated by COVID-19. Contrary to the authors hypothesis, the perceived novelty of COVID-19 events was not significantly associated with CF nor was the indirect effect of perceived novelty on PTSD mediated by CF. Originality/value: The authors extend event system theory by investigating the psychological processes linking event features and resultant outcomes while providing practical implications on preparations for future unexpected and potentially life-altering events.

Compassion fatigue , COVID-19 , Event system theory , Nurses , Pandemic , PTSD

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Athens University of Economics and Business, Athens, Greece
Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA, United States
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Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia

Florida State University
University of Dayton
University of Liechtenstein
Athens University of Economics and Business
Pepperdine University
Nazarbayev University
United Arab Emirates University
University of North Texas
Australian Catholic University

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