Citation

Passmore S, Hemming E, McIntosh HC, Hellman CM. Perm. J. 2019; 24: e19.087.

Affiliation

Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Tulsa.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Kaiser Permanente)

DOI

10.7812/TPP/19.087

PMID

31852051

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Child abuse pediatricians continuously encounter trauma experienced by abused children, putting them at risk of secondary traumatic stress (STS), a syndrome with symptoms similar to those of posttraumatic stress disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between secondary trauma, hope, meaningful work, and burnout in child abuse pediatric clinicians.

METHODS: Participants were solicited from the Helfer and Special Interest Group on Child Abuse for Medical Professionals listservs. They were sent a link to a Web-based survey consisting of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, the STS Scale, the Dispositional Hope Scale, and the Work as Meaning Inventory.

RESULTS: A total of 151 participants completed the survey. Correlational analyses showed strong positive associations between the STS score and burnout (R² = 0.47; F^3,140 = 40.64; p < 0.001). Hope and meaning in work demonstrated negatively moderate associations with STS and burnout (ΔR² = 0.07, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: A national sample of child abuse pediatric clinicians shows that STS is associated with burnout. Meaning in work and hope can mitigate these effects.

Language: en