Compassion fatigue and effects upon midwives providing childbirth care

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25463508
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Lifelong developmental nursing
• Research Institution: Health Sciences University of Hokkaido
• Principal Investigator: ITO MICHIKO 北海道医療大学, 看護福祉学部, 准教授 (50341681)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 共感疲労 / 助産師

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with compassion fatigue upon midwives providing childbirth care. The study was a cross-sectional survey involving midwives who deal with childbirth from hospitals and clinics in Hokkaido. 31 hospitals and 11 clinics(42.9%) agreed to participate in this study. The sample consisted of 172 midwives who completed the questionnaires. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised(IES-R) was used to evaluate compassion fatigue. 28.5% of midwives reported high to severe compassion fatigue. Multiple regression analysis revealed that variables correlated with IES-R included frequency of witnessed miscarriage, emotional expression involving others, changing a point of view and duty position. The findings suggest that midwives providing childbirth care may be at risk of highly experiencing compassion fatigue.

Free Research Field

医歯薬学