Does the self-care, compassion fatigue and psychological resilience predict self-compassi̇on of nurses and midwives working in the field of obstetrics and gynecology? A mixed method study

Objective: This study aims to determine the relationship between the self-compassion, self-care, compassion fatigue, psychological resilience levels of nurses/midwives working in the field of obstetrics and gynecology and to explain their self-compassion experiences. Method: The study explanatory sequential design from mixed research methods, relational research model in the quantitative stage and phenomenological approach in the qualitative stage were used. The sample of the quantitative phase of the study consisted of 144 participants (22 nurses, 122 midwives), the sample of the qualitative phase consisted of 19 participants (5 nurses, 14 midwives). Data were collected between December 2021 and August 2022 using a semi-structured interview form with Personal Information Form, Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form (SCS-SF), Self-Care Visual Analogue Scale (Self-Care VAS), the Compassion Fatigue-Short Scale (CF-Short Scale), the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA). The SPSS 23 program was used in the analysis of quantitative data and the content analysis proposed by Graneheim and Lundman was used in the analysis of qualitative data. Results: In the analysis of the quantitative data in the research, significant correlations were found between SCS-SF, Self-Care VAS, RSA total and subdimensions perception of future, perception of self, social competence, family cohesion, social resources and the CF-Short Scale total and subdimensions jub burnout, secondary traumatic stress. In addition, it is seen that the perception of self subdimension of RSA, RSA total and Self-Care VAS predicted SCS-SF positively; structural style and social resources subdimensions of RSA and CF-Short Scale total predicted SCS-SF negatively. In the analysis of qualitative data, three themes and 10 sub-themes were obtained. Main themes were 'Resources of self-compassion', 'Challenging work environment', 'Personal healing and empowerment'. Conclusion: In this study, it was concluded that as the self-care and psychological resilience of nurses/midwives working in the field of obstetrics and gynecology increased, their self-compassion level increased and the nurses/midwives became more compassionate to themselves with the creation of a compassionate care environment. Key words: nurse, midwife, self-compassion, self-care, resilience, compassion fatigue