A Longitudinal Study About Professional Quality of Life in Home Palliative Care Teams Supported by a Two-Year Clinical Supervision Program.

BACKGROUND

Health care professionals (HCPs) in home palliative care (PC) face emotionally demanding situations, increasing their risk of burnout, compassion fatigue, and reduced work engagement. Clinical supervision is a recommended supportive intervention, but longitudinal evidence is limited.

OBJECTIVES

To assess, over 2 years, the professional quality of life-burnout, secondary traumatic stress (STS), and compassion satisfaction (CS)-of HCPs providing home PC and receiving monthly clinical supervision. Secondary aims were to evaluate coping strategies and work engagement.

DESIGN

Nonprofit longitudinal study with assessments at baseline, after one year, and after two years.

SETTING/SUBJECTS: In total, 285 HCPs from 20 multidisciplinary teams across 11 Italian regions. Analyses focused on 112 participants who completed all assessments and attended ≥80% of supervision sessions.

MEASUREMENTS: Professional Quality of Life Scale, Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale questionnaires were administered. Data were analyzed using generalized estimating equation models and repeated measures of general linear models.

RESULTS

At baseline, HCPs reported medium-high CS, low-medium burnout, and STS, with no significant changes over time. Task-oriented coping was predominant and stable. Work engagement remained moderate. Burnout positively correlated with age and years of PC experience and negatively with work engagement.

CONCLUSION

Regular clinical supervision may help preserve the professional quality of life of PC HCPs, maintaining stable levels of burnout, CS, and work engagement over time. Findings support integrating a supervision program within a wider organizational strategy aimed at ongoing monitoring and promoting staff well-being.