The effect of compassion fatigue on the intention to quit inhealthcare professionals

Undoubtedly, the biggest task falls on healthcare professionals in combating the coronavirus disease, which is a global epidemic. Healthcare professionals also have to cope with a number of problems such as increased workload, work stress, excessive working hours, insomnia, fear of being infected, seeing patients suffer and staying away from the family. Compassion fatigue occurs in healthcare workers while dealing with these problems. Health workers who experience compassion fatigue are faced with some physical, mental and work-related adversities. This situation brings about job dissatisfaction, low performance and concentration, lack of motivation, increased mistakes in work and absenteeism. The aim of this study is; to examine whether compassion fatigue has an effect on the intention to quit in health workers. The universe of the research is composed of healthcare professionals working in Fırat University Hospital in Elazig city center. During the research, 210 healthcare professionals from different professions were reached. The data obtained by face to face questionnaire method were used. Compassion scale consisting of 24 expressions developed by Pommier (2011) and whose Turkish validity and reliability study was carried out by Akdeniz and Deniz (2016) while collecting data in the study, and the intention to leave the scale consisting of 4 statements that determine the level of the employee's intention to quit, developed by Cammann et al. (1979). used. The relationship between compassion fatigue and intention to quit, and the effect of compassion fatigue on the intention to quit were analyzed using correlation and regression analyzes. According to the results of the study, healthcare workers experience moderate compassion fatigue and their intention to quit is low. It was also found that compassion fatigue did not have a significant effect on the intention to quit. It was determined that the compassion fatigue levels of the participants did not differ significantly according to demographic variables.At the end of the research; significant differences were detected in the level of the participants' intention to quit, according to age, marital status, number of children,educational status, profession, choice of profession and demographic variables, but significant differences according to demographic variables of gender, unit of duty and professional working year. has not been determined.