Compassion fatigue (CF), or vicarious traumatization, is a state of physical/emotional distress that results from caring for those experiencing pain. We sought to characterize levels of CF in intensive care unit (ICU) and oncology nursing populations with subanalyses comparing specific personal/professional demographic factors. The Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) scale, a validated tool for assessing CF, burnout (BO), and compassion satisfaction (CS), was distributed to the ICU and oncology divisions of a community hospital. Demographic data and ProQOL scale scores were collected and compared within specialty and gender subgroups. Two-sample t tests and regression analyses were used to compare groups. Statistical significance was defined as p < .05. A total of 86 nurses submitted completed surveys able to be analyzed. Levels of CS were significantly lower (p = .023) and levels of BO were significantly higher (p = .029) in ICU nurses than in oncology nurses. Male nurses exhibited significantly higher CS (p = .001) and significantly lower BO (p = .021) and CF (p = .014) than female nurses. Intensive care unit nurses and female nurses from both ICU and oncology specialties may be at increased risk for developing a poorer overall ProQOL and CF.
Purpose
With the expansion of school resource officer programs and the increased use of harsh disciplinary measures in schools, there is a growing concern that school safety measures are contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline, particularly in already disadvantaged schools. However, there is a lack of research on the relationship between social and educational disadvantage in schools and the roles and functions of school resource officers. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the School Survey on Crime and Safety (2006), this paper utilized structural equation modeling to investigate to what extent, if any, does social and educational disadvantage in schools influence the roles and functions of school resource officers.
Findings
Findings suggest that school resource officers assigned to schools with greater levels of social and educational disadvantage perform more law enforcement-related functions, while school resource officers assigned to schools with less social and educational disadvantage perform more education-related functions.
Originality/value
There is a lack of empirical literature on the specific roles and functions of school resource officers and whether or not the varying levels of social and educational disadvantage can predict how school resource officers are utilized. The current study aims to address this gap in the literature by examining how the social and educational disadvantage of schools predicts the roles and functions of school resource officers.
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