Affiliations: Department of Medical Services and Techniques, Vocational School of Health Services, Başkent University, Ankara, Turkey
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Hüseyin Tolga Çağatay. E-mail: tcagatay@baskent.edu.tr; ORCID: 0000-0001-5228-3223.
Note: [1] ORCID: 0000-0002-2011-4481
Note: [2] ORCID: 0000-0003-2787-0869
Note: [3] ORCID: 0000-0002-6193-3395
Note: [4] ORCID: 0000-0003-0589-1538
Abstract: BACKGROUND: A sense of compassion has a core importance in health service delivery. Research on the psychological impact of being compassionate on healthcare workers is limited. OBJECTIVE: This research aims to examine the effect of compassion levels of healthcare workers on their psychological well-being. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional and descriptive study. The population of the research consists of health personnel working throughout Ankara, the capital. The study was carried out with 414 healthcare workers. A personal information form, compassion scale and psychological well-being scale were used in the research questionnaire. RESULTS: A positive and significant relationship was found between compassion and psychological well-being scores. It was determined that compassion positively affected psychological well-being levels. The level of compassion showed that there was a significant difference between the groups according to the variables of gender, family structure, job satisfaction and whether they would choose the same profession again. The level of psychological well-being was found to be significantly different between the groups in education, job satisfaction and making the same profession choice again. CONCLUSION: It is a professional requirement that health professionals in patient care have a sense of compassion and reflect this feeling in their conduct. Research shows that the greater the compassion, the higher the psychological well-being. Therefore, undertaking training initiatives to make healthcare workers more compassionate can contribute to patient care and at the same time to the psychological well-being of healthcare workers.
Keywords: Healthcare personnel, health status, health improvement, mental health, mental healing, mental hygiene
