Interactions between occupational stress, compassion fatigue, and work engagement among nurses

Abstract

Objectives: to analyze the levels of compassion fatigue, occupational stress, and work engagement, and their correlation among nurses at a university hospital. Methods: cross-sectional study conducted in 2019 with 83 nurses, using validated scales. Descriptive, reliability, and correlation tests were applied (p ≤ 0.05). Results: a prevalence of 34.9% for occupational stress and 15.9% for compassion fatigue was observed; high levels of dedication (4.6 ± 1.0), absorption (4.2 ± 1.0), and vigor (4.4 ± 1.1) were reported. Nurses with occupational stress were more likely to experience compassion fatigue (OR = 2.668; 95% CI: 0.799–8.898), and had higher levels of burnout (mean = 53.8; p = 0.013) and secondary traumatic stress (mean = 53.0; p = 0.047). Professionals with compassion fatigue showed reduced dedication (p = 0.011) and vigor (p = 0.001). Conclusions: the relationship between occupational stress and compassion fatigue increases the risk of burnout and secondary traumatic stress, and reduces dedication and vigor, highlighting the need for institutional measures to promote well-being, especially in the post-pandemic context marked by overload, resource scarcity, and distress.