Levels of Compassion Satisfaction, Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress in Rehabilitation Healthcare Workers in Rural and Remote Australia and Their Associations With Demographic and Work‐Related Variables

Objective This exploratory study sought to document compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress in Australian rural and remote rehabilitation healthcare workers and compare the results with other professionals working in the Australian healthcare system who had previously completed the Professional Quality of Life Scale Version 5 (ProQOL5). Design We used a mixed methods approach, comprising a cross‐sectional design and survey methodology with participants recruited via homogeneous purposive sampling. Data were collected using a web‐based self‐administered survey comprising demographic and work‐related questions, ProQOL5 and open‐response questions. Setting Rural and remote Australia where 28% of the population is spread across 99.3% of the country's eight million square kilometre landmass. These locations are sparsely populated, with the lowest number of health professionals relative to population size nationally. Participants Australian rural and remote rehabilitation healthcare workers that held membership with their professional body. They provide rehabilitation services to clients in workers' compensation, life insurance, the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and other rehabilitation settings in rural and remote Australia. Responses ( n = 29) were included in the analysis; two were excluded due to non‐completion of the survey. Most were female (86.2%), above 35 years old (76%), employed full‐time (72.4%) and were rehabilitation counsellors (44.8%). Two‐thirds were from Queensland and New South Wales (65.5%). Main Outcome Measure(s) Compassion satisfaction, burnout, secondary traumatic stress as measured by the ProQOL5. These outcome measures were reviewed in relation to demographic and workplace factors among rehabilitation healthcare professionals working in rural and remote Australia. Open‐response questions were included in the survey to provide further context to the ProQOL5 results. Results Workplace and organisational factors were connected to compassion satisfaction and burnout outcomes, including work‐life balance and workplace culture. When compared to other Australian healthcare worker groups, Australian rural and remote rehabilitation healthcare workers experienced significantly poorer compassion satisfaction, significantly higher burnout and significantly worse secondary traumatic stress. Conclusion Australian rural and remote rehabilitation healthcare workers are likely to experience lower levels of compassion satisfaction and higher levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress than other healthcare specialisations in Australia. This may be explained by the unique complexities of rehabilitation healthcare or practicing in a rural or remote location, as the reference groups comprised a range of healthcare specialisations across rural, remote and urban Australian locations and were not engaged in rehabilitation.