Compassion fatigue and disaster situations: a narrative review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17058/psiunisc.v8i3.19634Keywords:
compassion fatigue, disasters, workers health, impact of the disaster, quality of professional lifeAbstract
Compassion Fatigue (CF) involver cognitive and symbolic changes resulting from exposure to the pain and suffering of others. Therefore, the study aimed to identify how the scientific literature presents Compassion Fatigue in professionals who work in disaster situations. This is a Narrative Literature Review, with a systematic search in three databases, based on the descriptors “Compassion Fatigue” AND “Disasters”, in Portuguese, English and Spanish. The investigation took place from October to December 2023. A total of 28 articles were part of this review. The findings were grouped into four categories: Presence of CF, Burnout Syndrome and Secondary Traumatic Stress; Causes, effects and risk factors associated with the occurrence of CF in disaster situations; Disaster impacts and aid professionals and Disaster coping and mitigation strategies and CF interventions. The literature indicates that professionals who work in disasters are exposed to CF, in addition to implications for the health of these workers which suggests that coping and care strategies such as individual prevention and investments in psychological resources. Continuous specialized listening is necessary, which considers the demands of professionals and the scenario in which the disaster occurs.
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