SUBJECTIVE VITALITY, COMPASSION FATIGUE AND EMPATHY IN HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the relationship among subjective vitality, compassion fatigue, and empathy in health care professionals. A correlational design was employed on a sample of (N=305) healthcare professionals. The sample was collected from government institutes, clinics, and private and teaching hospitals through convenient sampling. The variables were evaluated using assessment measures such as the BBC Wellbeing Scale for Subjective Vitality, the Professional Quality of Life Scale for Compassion Fatigue, and the Perth Empathy Scale for Empathy. The study comprised of a sample of health care professionals (N=305; M age=27; SD=5.82; 52.1% women, 47.9% men). The correlational analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between compassion fatigue, and empathy and a negative relationship with burnout. An increase in subjective vitality led to increased relationships, compassion satisfaction, and positive affective empathy, but on the other hand, a decrease in burnout. The regression analysis demonstrated that subjective vitality could not predict empathy independently, but it could be predicted when compassion fatigue was present.