Abstract
Context: Palliative care professionals are exposed to significant stressors or Potentially Traumatic Events (PTEs) due to their work with suffering and dying patients, as well as stressors related to work organization and personal life. The long-term impact of these experiences on their mental health remains unclear. Additionally, factors such as social support, autonomy, psychological demands, psychological flexibility, mindfulness, and self-compassion have not been studied over the long term among these professionals.
Objectives: This six-month longitudinal study aims to identify the mental health trajectories of palliative care professionals in relation to specific stressors. We hypothesized that dispositional resources such as self-compassion, mindfulness, and psychological flexibility promote resilience, considering participants’ perceptions of their work environment.
Method: An online questionnaire was developed and distributed twice at six-month intervals (November 2022, t1, and May 2023, t2) to palliative care professionals in France (e.g., doctors, nurses, care assistants, psychologists). Of the initial 379 participants at t1, 280 completed both waves of the questionnaire, resulting in a 26% attrition rate.
Results: Among the various PTEs measured, the chronic stress of accumulating end-of-life care in the last six months at t2 was the most robust predictor of mental health when controlling for the same health variable at t1. Participants followed one of two trajectories between t1 and t2 across our three mental health components: a resilience trajectory (63.21% ≤ size ≤ 68.93%) or a chronic distress trajectory (31.07% ≤ size ≤ 36.79%), consistent with resilience trajectory theory. Psychological flexibility significantly increased the probability of following a trajectory of resilience on the Burnout-CF (OR = 1.08; 95% CI:1.01, 1.15) and well-being components (OR = 1.11; 95% CI:1.03, 1.18).