Compassion fatigue hos sjuksköterskor

Sammanfattning: Background: Compassion is to know how another person feel, fatigue is a condition of constant tiredness. Compassion fatigue occurs among caregivers and is characterized by nurses’ empathetic ability to nurture patients and appears physically, mentally and spiritually in nurses and can have a negative outcome on their well-beings. Problem: Compassion fatigue can occur within care giving professions which can affect the nurse and patient negatively. To prevent it, awareness of compassion fatigue should be highlighted in a larger context. Purpose: To describe aspects of compassion fatigue from the nurse perspective. Method: A general literature review has been applied in the thesis work, as eight quantitative articles, two qualitative articles and three articles of mixed method have been used. Findings: Compassion fatigue has shown to affect nurses working in different care departments caused by high work load, stress, time shortage and critically ill patients. Strategies for coping with compassion fatigue turned to be physical activity and support from family, friends and colleagues. Time for recovery was considered important for nurses as they could disconnect their negative thinking. Conclusion: Knowledge about compassion fatigue and its risk factors should be noted to prevent the condition.