Burnout and Compassion Fatigue Among ICU Nurses: A Systematic Review of Predictors, Protective Factors and Workforce Retention Interventions - PubMed

5 hours ago

Burnout and compassion fatigue are prevalent among ICU nurses, affecting workforce stability and patient safety.
Key risk factors include high workload, staffing constraints, moral distress, and inadequate leadership or team support.
Compassion fatigue is linked to repeated exposure to suffering, traumatic events, and lack of psychological support.
Protective factors include compassion satisfaction and supportive work environments.
Interventions like resilience training, mindfulness, and structured support programs show reductions in burnout-related outcomes.
Study heterogeneity and variable quality limit the strength of evidence on intervention effectiveness.
Recommendations for clinical practice include adequate staffing, workload management, protected breaks, and psychologically safe team culture.
Future research should use standardized definitions and outcome measures to strengthen findings.

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