ABSTRACT
Background: The burnout levels of nurses, who have an important place in the delivery of health services, are increasing day by day. As the burnout levels of nurses increase, there may be undesirable situations such as compassion fatigue specific to them, their patients and their institutions. Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of compassion fatigue seen in nurses on burnout and the mediating role of empathy in this effect. Methods: The research was conducted on nurses working in three public hospitals operating in Sakarya, Turkey, between 2 January and 16 April 2019. Since the research was conducted in more than one hospital, the minimum number of participants was determined for each hospital using the stratified sampling method in the first stage. In the second stage, the participants were selected by convenience sampling method. Descriptive statistics, linear regression and process macro regression analysis were used to analyse the data. Results: The results showed the effect of nurses' compassion fatigue on burnout and empathy (ß = 0.673). In addition, empathy has a mediating role in the effect of compassion fatigue on burnout (ß = 0.251). Conclusions/implications for practice: Reducing the burnout levels of nurses, who have a very important place in the delivery of health services, is important for both themselves and patients. It is recommended that the results of this study, which may contribute to the development of the awareness of nurse managers, should be made with the ability to understand the symptoms of compassion fatigue and burnout, teaching coping methods and providing support by experts when necessary.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a protocol of nonpharmacological interventions to improve sleep quality in the intensive care unit (ICU). Due to its close relationship with sleep quality, the effects of the same interventions on noise levels and delirium rates were also evaluated in this study. METHODS: This pretest-posttest design with a control group was carried out in a medical ICU over 8 months. Data were collected using Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II, the Glasgow Coma Scale, the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale, the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ), the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit, and noise measurement devices. In the first phase of the study, patients receiving standard care in the ICU were followed. After the first stage, a training session was held for nurses to raise awareness and information. Then, the sleep-promoting protocol created by the researchers was applied. The ambient noise level was measured continuously. RESULTS: A total of 78 patients with a mean age of 70.0 ± 13.2 years were followed in the ICU for an average of 7.3 ± 3.8 days. With protocol implementation, the ambient noise level in the ICU was reduced from 70.9 ± 3.8 dB(A) to 62.7 ± 3.5 dB(A) (p < 0.01); the RCSQ scores of the patients increased from 48.3 ± 1.4 to 62.1 ± 1.8 (p < 0.01). Although statistically nonsignificant, efforts to improve sleep quality also reduced the development of delirium by 15%. CONCLUSION: It is possible to improve sleep quality and reduce noise levels in an ICU with a protocol consisting of multicomponent nonpharmacological interventions.
