Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Apr 8;13(1):349.
doi: 10.1186/s40359-024-01869-5.

Compassion fatigue in helping professions: a scoping literature review

Amelia Mohd Noor  1 , Dodi Suryana  2 , Engku Mardiah Engku Kamarudin  3 , Noor Banu Mahadir Naidu  4 , Siti Rozaina Kamsani  5 , Priyalatha Govindasamy  6
Affiliations

Compassion fatigue in helping professions: a scoping literature review

Amelia Mohd Noor et al. BMC Psychol. .

Abstract

Background: Generalizing the concept of compassion fatigue across healthcare settings or professions is difficult because compassion fatigue is a complex and abstract concept. Compassion fatigue is described as a result in the form of behaviors and emotions resulting from learning of another person's traumatic event. Compassion fatigue is considered a 'cost of caring.' This study was a scoping literature review that aimed to identify what is known about compassion fatigue in helping professions.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted on electronic databases, namely ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Taylor and Francis. Data analysis was conducted using PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). Study results were mapped based on the following criteria: 1) conceptual analysis; 2) predictor factors; and 3) research progress. A total of 43 articles met the inclusion and eligibility criteria for further review in this scoping literature review.

Results: The results showed that it is difficult to imagine how a conceptual model of compassion fatigue could be equally relevant and applicable to various helping professions. Factors that can influence compassion fatigue are divided into personal factors (professional factors and sociodemographic factors), such as resilience, burnout, moral courage, emotional control, mindfulness, work experience, professional competence, and professional efficacy, and work-related factors such as traumatic experiences, life disorders, number of patients treated, job satisfaction, emotional support, social support, and fluctuations in interactions with suffering patients. Research on compassion fatigue has developed a lot, especially in the health sector, especially nursing using experimental, cross-sectional, and literature review research methods.

Conclusion: Further analysis is needed in developing a conceptual analysis of compassion fatigue that focuses on other fields of work more specifically and comprehensively by paying attention to, aspects, determinants, and validity of compassion fatigue symptoms.

Keywords: Conceptual analyses; Fatigue; Helping professions; Predictor; Scoping literature review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study has been reviewed and approved by the Research Management and Innovation Centre board of education, educational psychology, and guidance and counseling experts at Sultan Idris University of Education Malaysia (No. FRGS/1/2021/SS0/UPSI/02/18), thus ensuring that this study meets the research standards set by the University. The data collected was based on a literature review. The researchers acknowledge full respect and protection of the privacy rights of the articles during data collection, processing, and analysis. Consent for publication. Not applicable. Competing interest: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart review process. (Adaptation from PRISMA 2020 flow diagram)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Ondrejková N, Halamová J. Prevalence of compassion fatigue among helping professions and relationship to compassion for others, self-compassion and self-criticism. Health Soc Care Commun. 2022;30(5):1680–94. 10.1111/hsc.13741. - PubMed
    1. Ledoux K. Understanding compassion fatigue: understanding compassion. J Adv Nurs. 2015;71(9):2041–50. 10.1111/jan.12686. - PubMed
    1. Figley CR. Compassion fatigue as secondary traumatic stress disorder: an overview. In: Compassion fatigue: coping with STS disorder in those who treat the traumatized. Baltimore, MD, US: London: Brunner-Routledge; 1995. p. 3–28.
    1. Ko CM, Grace F, Chavez GN, Grimley SJ. Effect of seminar on compassion on student self-compassion, mindfulness and well-being: A randomized controlled trial. J Am. 2018;66:537. 10.1080/07448481.2018.1431913. - PubMed
    1. Welp LR, Brown CM. Self-compassion, empathy, and helping intentions. J Posit Psychol. 2014. 10.1080/17439760.2013.831465.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources