Uhlig-Reche Hannah, Rolin Summer, Karnik Rasika, Lyons Maureen, Verduzco-Gutierrez Monica
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Department of Internal Medicine, Section General Internal Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
PM R. 2025 Apr 18. doi: 10.1002/pmrj.13383.
Health care workers (HCWs) caring for patients with chronic disease are more likely to experience compassion fatigue. The impacts on HCWs caring for patients with a new complex chronic disease, long COVID, are unknown.
To measure compassion fatigue, work engagement, and psychological distress in HCWs caring for patients with long COVID and investigate associations with personal history of long COVID and demographic and occupational characteristics.
Cross-sectional survey study assessing demographic and occupational characteristics, Compassion Fatigue-Short Scale (CF-SS), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-3 (UWES-3), and Screening Tool for Psychological Distress (STOP-D) in HCWs caring for patients with long COVID.
Online survey from March-June 2023.
116 HCWs caring for patients with long COVID.
Not applicable.
CF-SS, UWES-3, and STOP-D scores and associations with personal history of long COVID, demographic and occupational factors.
HCWs with a personal history of long COVID had worse scores in all outcome measures compared to those without long COVID. Effects were moderate (UWES-3: η = -0.09, p = .01; STOP-D: η = 0.06, p = .02; CF-SS: η = 0.07, p = .02). Outcome measures were comparable between physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians and other HCWs (p > .05). CF-SS showed a small positive correlation (r = 0.19, n = 112, p = .04) with the percentage of the provider's patient population with long COVID. Mean outcome measures differed between career-level groups with medium to large effects (UWES-3: η = 0.13, STOP-D: η = 0.06, CF-SS: η = 0.06). Work engagement was worse in early career compared to late career (p <.01). Psychological distress was worse in middle career compared to late career (p = .02). Compassion fatigue was worse in early career compared to late career (p = .02).
Among HCWs caring for patients with long COVID, mean scores for all primary outcomes were worse in HCWs with a personal history of long COVID compared to those without. Early career HCWs caring for this population are less engaged and experience greater compassion fatigue whereas those in middle career experience greater psychological distress.
照顾慢性病患者的医护人员更容易出现同情疲劳。对于照顾新型复杂慢性病——长新冠患者的医护人员的影响尚不清楚。
测量照顾长新冠患者的医护人员的同情疲劳、工作投入和心理困扰，并调查其与长新冠个人病史以及人口统计学和职业特征之间的关联。
横断面调查研究，评估照顾长新冠患者的医护人员的人口统计学和职业特征、同情疲劳简短量表（CF-SS）、乌得勒支工作投入量表-3（UWES-3）以及心理困扰筛查工具（STOP-D）。
2023年3月至6月的在线调查。
116名照顾长新冠患者的医护人员。
不适用。
CF-SS、UWES-3和STOP-D评分以及与长新冠个人病史、人口统计学和职业因素的关联。
有长新冠个人病史的医护人员在所有观察指标上的得分均低于没有长新冠病史的医护人员。影响程度为中等（UWES-3：η = -0.09，p = 0.01；STOP-D：η = 0.06，p = 0.02；CF-SS：η = 0.07，p = 0.02）。物理医学与康复医师和其他医护人员的观察指标相当（p > 0.05）。CF-SS与医护人员的长新冠患者占患者总数的百分比呈小的正相关（r = 0.19，n = 112，p = 0.04）。不同职业水平组的平均观察指标存在中等到较大的差异（UWES-3：η = 0.13，STOP-D：η = 0.06，CF-SS：η = 0.06）。与职业生涯后期相比，职业生涯早期的工作投入情况更差（p < 0.01）。与职业生涯后期相比，职业生涯中期的心理困扰更严重（p = 0.02）。与职业生涯后期相比，职业生涯早期的同情疲劳更严重（p = 0.02）。
在照顾长新冠患者的医护人员中，有长新冠个人病史的医护人员在所有主要观察指标上的平均得分均低于没有该病史的医护人员。照顾这一人群的职业生涯早期医护人员工作投入度较低，同情疲劳程度更高，而职业生涯中期的医护人员心理困扰更严重。
