A Scoping Review of Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction in Burn Therapists

Abstract

Abstract Occupational and physical therapists who routinely provide potentially painful and distressing rehabilitation to burn survivors are at risk for developing compassion fatigue. Burn therapists may also experience compassion satisfaction based on the successes their patients accomplish. The purpose of this review was to synthesize the literature related to compassion fatigue and satisfaction in therapists who work with burn survivors, explore previously reported predictors and mediators of (and responses to) these constructs, and identify gaps in the literature. Original, peer-reviewed papers published from journal inception to May 2023 were obtained from 5 electronic bibliographic databases: CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science. Studies were eligible if they (1) reported compassion fatigue or its related concepts and (2) focused on occupational or physical therapists who work with burn survivors directly or as a member of a multidisciplinary burn treatment team. The initial search revealed 284 articles, 2 of which met inclusion criteria and are summarized in this scoping review. Neither article focused solely on burn therapists but examined the experiences of multidisciplinary burn team members working in single burn centers in North America. Both studies used a cross-sectional survey-based design to assess concepts related to compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction. This scoping review uncovered important gaps in the literature related to compassion fatigue or satisfaction in burn therapists. More research is needed to better understand the interplay between concepts as well as their relationship to burn therapists’ outcomes.