Compassion satisfaction and fatigue: emotional responses to nursing professionals' work and health.

OBJECTIVES

to analyze the association between emotional responses in health work and physical and mental health conditions with compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in nursing professionals from a Brazilian capital.

METHODS

a cross-sectional study, carried out from August 2023 to July 2024 with 95 nursing professionals from a public hospital. Professional Quality of Life, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scales and characterization questionnaires were applied. The analysis was carried out by effect size and multiple linear regression.

RESULTS

satisfaction was associated with depression, desire to change profession, indifference to distress, and meaning of life at work. Fatigue was related to stress, alcohol use, skills to intervene in distress, and perception that working conditions impact willingness to care.

CONCLUSIONS

negative emotional responses at work and mental health are associated with lower satisfaction and greater compassion fatigue in nursing professionals.