ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship of compassion fatigue and occupational stress and job burnout in ambulance nurses. METHODS: By stratified cluster random sampling method,a total of 380 ambulance nurses from 5 cities in Henan Province were selected as objects,and 261 emergency nurses from the same hospital were selected as control. A assessment survey was performed using the Chinese version of Professional Quality of Life,the Maslach Burnout Inventory( MBI),and the Chinese Nursing Stressor Scale( NSS) which included the stressor related to working expectation( factor1),the stressor related to family( factor 2),the stressor related to interpersonal relationships( factor 3),the stressor related to job specification( factor 4),related to patients( factor 5),and to the working load( factor 6). RESULTS: The ambulance nurses had higher compassion fatigue scores than the emergency nurses( P < 0. 01). One-way analysis of variance showed that the ambulance nurses with length of service less than 3. 0 years had higher compassion fatigue scores than those with 3. 0 or more years and those with over 10. 0 years of service length( P < 0. 05). The compassion fatigue scores of general nurses were higher than those professional titled as senior nurses and nurse supervisors or above( P <0. 05). The correlation analysis showed that the compassion fatigue scores of ambulance nurse were positively correlated with the factor 2,3,4,5 and 6 of NSS scores and MBI scores [the correlation coefficients( r) were 0. 15,0. 28,0. 25,0. 34,0. 32 and 0. 36,P < 0. 05]. The MBI scores were positively correlated with all the 6 factors of NSS( r were 0. 31,0. 25,0. 36,0. 32,0. 37 and 0. 31,respectively,P < 0. 05). The multiple linear regression analysis results showed that the regression correlations among MBI score,NSS factor 5 score,interaction effect of MBI and NSS factor 5 and the compassion fatigue score were confirmed( the standardized partial regression coefficient were 0. 39,0. 24 and 0. 35,P <0. 05). The path analysis results showed that the MBI score had incomplete intermediate effect between NSS and compassion fatigue scores. CONCLUSION: Ambulance nurses have severe condition in compassion fatigue,the nurses with shorter length of service or lower titles have higher susceptibility,with collaborative influences of job burnout and occupational stress.