The Role of Fatigue of Compassion, Burnout and Hopelessness in Healthcare: Experience in the Time of COVID-19 Outbreak

Background: In the times of serious health alarm, as it is happening in the COVID-19 pandemic, burden of healthcare is likely to explode. The current pandemic is having a profound effect on all aspects of society, including mental health and physical health. In a previous study we showed interaction between compassion fatigue, burnout and workload.

Methods: In our study, we have evaluated stress levels in 102 healthcare workers recruited in different rehabilitation departments (psychiatric and multidisciplinary). In particular, we evaluated the fatigue of compassion, vicarious trauma, burnout and hope (hopelessness) in the first two months of lookdown due to the COVID-19.

Results: The results obtained after the administration of the following evaluation scales: sCFs, CBI, Pro QOL, HBS, showed an overall increase in the scores in all professional figures. Significant compassion fatigue and burnout percentage is present in several groups. The highest levels of hopelessness in some professional figures, while higher educational levels can protect workers from the risk of developing high levels of work stress.

Conclusions: The data obtained with this study are similar to those of our previous study, although they may indicate that during the period of the coronavirus pandemic the scores of the several scales used are higher.