Caring International Research Collaborative: A Five-Country Partnership to Measure Perception of Nursing Staffs’ Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Caring for Self
Michal Itzhaki
Tel Aviv University
Margaret Treacy
University College, Dublin
Nthabiseng Phaladze
University of Botswana
Carmen Rumeu
Navarra University Clinic
Rachael Vernon
University of South Australia
Bob Marshall
Eastern Institute of Technology
Naomi M Seboni
University of Botswana
Gerard Fealy
University College, Dublin
Mally Ehrenfeld
Tel Aviv University
Philip Larkin
University College, Dublin
Martin McNamara
University College, Dublin
Denise Dignam
University of Technology, Sydney
Nancy Rollins Gantz
CAPPS International
John Nelson
Healthcare Environment
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/ijps.v2i1.104
Keywords: self-care, caring for self, compassion fatigue, burnout, nurses, statistical analysis, Botswana, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Spain, Caring International Research Collaborative, Sigma Theta Tau
Abstract
Partnering in research across disciplines and across countries can be challenging due to differing contexts of practice and culture. This study sought to demonstrate how central constructs that have application across disciplines and countries can be studied while concurrently considering context. Groups of nurses from Botswana, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, and Spain partnered to identify how to measure the constructs of caring for self, burnout, and compassion fatigue, replicating a study by Johnson (2012), who found that caring for self had a moderately strong negative relationship with both compassion fatigue and burnout. While these constructs were of interest to all five groups, the conversation of contextual influences varied. All five groups used the same instruments to measure the central constructs. Levels of burnout and compassion fatigue varied by country but were moderated by caring for self. Partnering across countries made it possible to understand that caring for self moderates the negative impact of burnout and compassion fatigue in all five countries. This study gives insight into methods for partnering across disciplines and contexts.