Secondary traumatic stress in multi-disciplinary teams caring for heart and lung transplant patients.

Abstract

Multidisciplinary care teams providing care for heart and lung transplant recipients frequently encounter extremely life-threatening medical conditions, likely resulting in secondary traumatic stress (STS), that is, the emotions and behaviors experienced due to exposure to another person’s traumatic or life-threatening situation. STS may be a substantial problem with widespread effects. This was a prospective study at a single, high-volume heart and lung transplant center. Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) scores were evaluated as a function of demographics, risk exposure, resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale), personality factors (Ten-Item Personality Inventory), and major depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-8) using Bayesian methods and a prior distribution based on data from a similar protocol. Of 35 participants, 15 (43%) scored positive on the STSS, with symptoms of intrusion (74%) and arousal (71%) the most common. STSS score was associated with gender, with women scoring higher, and only weakly with risk exposure. Multivariable regression identified gender and resilience as the best model to predict STS (R2 = 0.59). In conclusion, the rate of STS among our heart and lung transplant care team was alarmingly high, and resilience was a major predictor. Individual resilience assessment may prove a helpful first step in identifying strategies to reduce STS.

Secondary traumatic stress, vicarious posttraumatic growth and their association in emergency room physicians and nurses

“…STS in physicians is relatively understudied. In a mixed sample of heart/lung transplant teams which included physicians (Carey et al, 2019 ), STS prevalence was 43%. STS prevalence was 16% in Israeli physicians treating terror victims (Weiniger et al, 2006 ) and in a more civilian context, 22% of surgeons displayed STS (Warren et al, 2013 ).…”