Fear and Coping with Death in Intensive Care Nurses: a Structural Model Predictor of Compassion Fatigue

Abstract

Objective. To determine the effect of fear and coping with death on compassion fatigue in nurses working in the intensive care unit. Methods. Correlational-predictive design, applied in 245 nurses working in the intensive care unit through intentional sampling. The study applied a personal data card, the Collet-Lester Fear of Death Scale (α=0.72), the Bugen Fell of Death Scale (α=0.82), and the Empathy Exhaustion Scale (α=0.80). Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed, such as Spearman's test and a structural equation model. Results. The work had 255 nurses who participated, finding a relationship among fear and coping toward death and compassion fatigue (p<0.01), together with the equation model showing that fear and coping toward death have a positive effect in 43.6% on compassion fatigue. Conclusion. Fear and coping with death have an effect on compassion fatigue in nurses working in the intensive care unit, so that when working in a critical area it can cause health effects