University Laboratory Animal Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio;, Email:
College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2020 Mar 1;59(2):139-147. doi: 10.30802/AALAS-JAALAS-19-000080. Epub 2020 Feb 5.
Working with research animals exposes employees to emotionally demanding work and moral stressors. The emotional impact of animal research is similar to that of working with human patients, and is similarly associated with burnout (BNO) or compassion fatigue (CF), which can lead to psychosomatic symptoms, pervasive states of stress, workplace conflict, and at its most extreme, suicidal ideation. One remedy for such feelings is increasing the satisfaction one feels from performing one's job well, known as compassion satisfaction (Csat). To address these occupational health concerns in an academic research setting, the Ohio State University's Lab Animal Resources (ULAR) study team reviewed existing preventative programing both internal and external to the university. Subsequently, a survey was distributed to all staff members to assess the following factors: employee awareness of free resources already available to them, association between staff demographics and the experience of BNO and/or CF, and the employee's own mitigation recommendations. Respondents were mostly female, in 20 to 49 age range, with 0 to 4 y in the field. Of those responding, 81.6% specified that they had experienced BNO and CF alone, together, or in combination with CSat. Factors statistically associated ( < 0.05) with BNO and CF were age, number of years in the field, and number of animals euthanized per year. A relative risk analysis was also used to identify protective factors. Only the age of respondents appeared to be a protective factor- the 50+ age group had 88.57% (RR = 0.1143) reduction in risk for experiencing BNO and/or CF. Participant suggestions indicated that employees would like improvements to the work environment, more novel work experiences, and more positive feedback from department leadership. The social ecological model, a public health model for program interventions, was used as a framework for the development of recommendations to mitigate BNO and CF while increasing CSat. The recommendations were customized for ULAR employees based on the survey findings.
在与研究动物打交道时，员工会面临情感上的要求和道德压力。动物研究的情感影响与与人类患者合作相似，同样与倦怠（BNO）或同情疲劳（CF）相关，这可能导致身心症状、普遍的压力状态、工作场所冲突，甚至最极端的情况下，自杀意念。减轻这种情绪的一种方法是增加对自己工作表现的满意度，这被称为同情满足感（Csat）。为了在学术研究环境中解决这些职业健康问题，俄亥俄州立大学的实验室动物资源（ULAR）研究团队审查了大学内外现有的预防计划。随后，向所有员工分发了一份调查，以评估以下因素：员工对已经提供给他们的免费资源的认识、员工人口统计学特征与 BNO 和/或 CF 体验之间的关系，以及员工自己的缓解建议。受访者主要是女性，年龄在 20 岁至 49 岁之间，在该领域有 0 到 4 年的工作经验。在回答问题的人中，81.6%的人表示他们单独或同时经历了 BNO 和 CF，或者与 Csat 一起经历了这些情况。与 BNO 和 CF 统计学相关（<0.05）的因素是年龄、在该领域的工作年限以及每年安乐死的动物数量。还使用相对风险分析来确定保护因素。只有受访者的年龄似乎是一个保护因素-50 岁以上年龄组经历 BNO 和/或 CF 的风险降低了 88.57%（RR=0.1143）。参与者的建议表明，员工希望改善工作环境、获得更多新颖的工作经验，并获得部门领导的更多积极反馈。社会生态模型是一种用于计划干预的公共卫生模型，被用作减轻 BNO 和 CF 同时增加 Csat 的建议的框架。根据调查结果，为 ULAR 员工定制了建议。
