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Completed

NCT Number: NCT07450339

Compassion Fatigue in Healthcare Workers Working in the Emergency Department, Emergency Room, and General Intensive Care Units.

Compassion Fatigue can be conceptualized as consisting of two components (Gentry, 2015): (1) burnout, and (2) secondary traumatic stress (STS), also referred to as vicarious trauma.

The study includes a quantitative assessment through the administration of the Professional Quality of Life Scale (Professional Quality of Life: Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue, Version 5; Stamm, 2009) at two time points, baseline (T0) and follow-up (T1), to measure levels of Compassion Fatigue among healthcare professionals working within the Emergency Department, specifically in the Emergency Room and General Intensive Care Unit.

In the interval between the two quantitative assessments, following T0 and preceding T1, a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach will be conducted. The study will also explore potential protective and risk factors related to Compassion Fatigue specific to the Emergency Room and General Intensive Care Unit settings. The Participatory Action Research will be carried out using focus group methodology.

The primary objective of the study is to assess Compassion Fatigue (Larsen & Stamm, 2008) among healthcare professionals working in the Emergency Department, specifically in the Emergency Room and General Intensive Care Unit of the Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo in Pavia, before (T0) and after (T1) the implementation of the Participatory Action Research conducted through focus groups. The second assessment (T1) will be carried out 18 months after the baseline assessment (T0)

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Key information

Conditions

Compassion Fatigue Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Burnout Burnout, Psychological Coping Fatigue Mental Fatigue Occupational Stress Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms Stress (Psychology) Stress, Psychological

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo

Pavia, Lombardy, 27100, Italy

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Minimum age of 18 years at the time of questionnaire completion;
  • Employment in the Emergency Room or General Intensive Care Unit of the Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo as a physician, nurse, or healthcare assistant at the time of questionnaire completion;
  • Provision of written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria
  • Individuals who, although employed at the Policlinico San Matteo at the time of questionnaire completion, do not work as physicians, nurses, or healthcare assistants or do not reside in Italy at the time of questionnaire completion;
  • Individuals who, although employed at the Policlinico San Matteo at the time of questionnaire completion and working as physicians, nurses, or healthcare assistants, are not assigned to one of the departments involved in the study (Emergency Room or General Intensive Care Unit).

Treatment and study plan

Focus Group

Other

The focus groups were organized into five modules: (1) compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress; (2) coping strategies (problem-focused and emotion-focused coping); (3) work motivation and work-related stress; (4) work-life balance; and (5) advice and work organization

Primary outcomes

  1. The primary endpoint will be the change in the Professional Quality of Life: Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue, Version 5 (Stamm, 2009) score measured before (T0) and after (T1) the focus group sessions.

    Time frame: from enrollment to the end of treatment at 18 months

    The primary objective will be measured using the following psychological instrument: the Professional Quality of Life: Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue, Version 5 (ProQOL; Stamm, 2009), a self-report questionnaire consisting of 20 items designed to assess Compassion Fatigue in caregiving activities.

    The primary endpoint will be the difference between the Professional Quality of Life scores measured at the 18-month follow-up (T1) after the Participatory Action Research (focus groups) and the baseline assessment (T0), both overall and stratified by clinical department.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in score on the professional burnout subscale

    Time frame: from the enrollment to the end of treatment at 18 months

    The Student's t-test (or its non-parametric equivalent, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test) will be used for paired data to compare the score on the professional burnout scale recorded at T1 with that recorded at T0. The analyses will be repeated for each UOC.

  2. Change in the Secondary Traumatic Stress sub scale score

    Time frame: from the enrollment to the end of treatment at 18 months

    Change in the Secondary Traumatic Stress sub scale score:

    The higher the score, the higher the level of secondary traumatization.

  3. Association between participants' characteristics and level of participation with changes in scale scores

    Time frame: From the enrollment to the end of treatment at 18 months

    Association between participants' characteristics and level of participation with changes in scale scores

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo di Pavia

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Compassion Fatigue in Healthcare Workers Working in the Emergency Department, Emergency Room, and General Intensive Care Units. A PRE-POST Participatory Action Research Study

Acronym: EMERGENCY

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Mar 4, 2026
Registry last updated
Mar 4, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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