Professional Quality of Life among Occupational Therapy Practitioners: An Exploratory Study of Compassion Fatigue

Abstract

We examined the prevalence of compassion fatigue among occupational therapy practitioners. An online survey was developed incorporating the professional quality of life (ProQoL) which has three subscales. Among the 76 respondents, the majority of them reported high compassion satisfaction (52.6%), low burnout (60.5%), and low secondary traumatic stress (78.9%). Participants’ age, years of experience, practice setting, or time spent in direct client care were not associated with the level of subscale scores. The results are discussed in the context of occupational therapy core values and beliefs as well as job options provided by the profession.

Keywords:

• Burn out
• compassion fatigue
• job satisfaction
• workplace support