Secondary traumatic stress experiences of nurses caring for cancer patients

Abstract

Aim The aim of this study was to explore secondary traumatic stress experiences of nurses caring for cancer patients. Methods A qualitative descriptive approach was taken in the study. The team conducted semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with 13 oncology nurses. We evaluated the responses collected using content analysis. Results Three distinct themes emerged from the interviews: cycle of desperation, coping, and change. Conclusion Based on the results obtained, it is suggested that programs containing cognitive restructuring techniques be developed; peer support groups may enable senior nurses to guide inexperienced nurses.

The Moderator Role of Passion for Work in the Association between Work Stressors and Secondary Traumatic Stress: A Cross‐Level Diary Study among Health Professionals of Intensive Care Units

“…In other words, the impact of daily work stressors in ICUs is greater among those professionals with low dispositional harmonious passion compared to those with high dispositional harmonious passion, as they experience a large increase in shattered assumptions. This fact supports Lavigne and colleagues' (2014) theory, in which harmonious passion may change the perception of work stressors as the work setting is considered to be a positive and purposeful context and thus diminishes the impact on professionals' health, having a buffering effect (Peters, 2018).…”

“…Firstly, we found compassion fatigue to be the emotional part of STS. Compassion fatigue was introduced as an explanation for nurses' burnout (Steinheiser, 2018) and is defined as a state of emotional exhaustion resulting from continued exposure to compassion stress (Jakimowicz et al, 2018); it may also result from the combination of trauma outcomes and the duty of empathetic caring (Mason et al, 2014), which is remarkably prevalent in intensive care settings (Peters, 2018). Moreover, daily work stressors in health professions have been established as a trigger for compassion fatigue in nurses (Yoder, 2010); therefore, the diary approach for deepening our understanding of the direct influence of daily work stressors on daily levels of compassion fatigue is supported.…”

“…The literature supports the idea that longer and higher work stressors increase the likelihood of care professionals suffering from STS (Meadors & Lamson, 2008). Its relevance lies in the adverse effects that STS may have on physical and mental health (Lee, Gottfried, & Bride, 2018), with the most profound impact being on job performance (Partlak Günüşen, Üstün, Serçekuş Ak, & Büyükkaya Besen, 2019). Following the model of Moreno‐Jiménez, Morante, Rodríguez‐Carvajal, and Rodríguez Muñoz (2008), we specifically considered three differentiated dimensions (i.e.…”

Secondary Traumatic Stress, Mental State, and Work Ability in Nurses—Results of a Psychological Risk Assessment at a University Hospital

“…The experience of STS has been reported frequently in many caring professions including nursing. There are several published studies examining STS and closely related conditions in different nursing specialties such as emergency care (7)(8)(9), critical care (10), cancer/oncology (11,12), internal medicine/heart and vascular nurses (13), primary care (14), labor and delivery (15), psychiatric care (16), and pediatric care (17,18). These studies demonstrated that STS is a frequent condition across nursing specialties, with prevalence rates ranging between 35% and 60% (19).…”

Mediating Effect of Secondary Traumatic Stress and Compassion Satisfaction on the Association Between Stress and Burnout: the Korea Nurses’ Health Study

“…A number of studies showed that stress is related to or affects STS and CS [16][17][18]. In addition, positive (CS) or negative (STS) feelings experienced by nurses may affect burnout [19,20].…”