Impact of Secondary Traumatic Stress, Burnout, and Compassion Satisfaction on Caregiving Behavior of Palliative Nurses

This study investigates the impact of secondary traumatic stress,burnout,and compassion satisfaction on the caregiving behaviour of palliative nurses.Secondary traumatic stress refers to the psychological distress that results from exposure to the suffering of others,while burnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion and reduced professional efficacy.In contrast, compassion satisfaction represents the positive emotional fulfilment derived from caregiving. The study employed a cross-sectional design, surveying 120 palliative nurses through validated psychological assessment tools. Results indicate a strong positive correlation between burnout and STS, suggesting that nurses experiencing high emotional exhaustion are more vulnerable to trauma-related stress. However, compassion satisfaction demonstrated a significant negative correlation with burnout, implying that nurses who derive fulfillment from their work are more resilient to emotional exhaustion.Interestingly,no significant correlation was found between secondary traumatic stress and compassion satisfaction, indicating that compassion satisfaction operates independently of exposure to trauma. Caring behaviour remained relatively stable despite burnout and STS, underscoring the role of professional commitment and workplace support.