Investigation of compassion fatigue of professionals working in the field of child welfare: A study on social service centers

The aim of the research is to examine the compassion fatigue of professionals working in the field of child welfare. In the research, data were collected by conducting in-depth interviews with 18 participants using a semi-structured interview form and criterion sampling method. In the study using the phenomenology design, the interviews were held between July 2 and November 30, 2023, on the day, time and place determined jointly by the participants and the interviewer. During the interviews, which lasted approximately 45 minutes, the data were transcribed faithfully using a voice recorder, with the consent of the participants. Content analysis method was used in the data analyzed using Word and Excel 2013 programs. As a result of the analyses, 6 themes were created: "the meaning attributed to compassion", "the meaning attributed to compassion fatigue", "causes of compassion fatigue", "effects of compassion fatigue", "compassion fatigue difficulties" and "coping with compassion fatigue". There are challenges posed by serving individuals who are victims of trauma. Compassion fatigue is one of these difficulties. In experiencing compassion fatigue; Workload, excessive empathy, feeling of inadequacy, professional satisfaction and functioning problems come to the fore. Emotional well-being must be high in order for child welfare professionals to cope with the challenges they face. There is a need for micro, macro and meso scale programs that will increase the probability of professional staff experiencing compassion satisfaction and improve their coping skills.