An exploratory study of the role of emotion regulation and emotional intelligence in compassion satisfaction and fatigue among doctors and nurses

Jackson-Koku, Gordon and Fletcher, Ian and Giga, Sabir (2020) An exploratory study of the role of emotion regulation and emotional intelligence in compassion satisfaction and fatigue among doctors and nurses. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

Aim: To explore relationships between emotion management strategies (ER), emotional intelligence (EI), and compassion satisfaction (CS) and fatigue (CF) in doctors and nurses at a large National Health Service (NHS) Hospital in the United Kingdom (UK).Objective: To identify predicting variable(s) for compassion satisfaction and fatigue in doctors and nurses.Method: Four hundred and eighty-seven participants completed questionnaires assessing six possible explanatory variables for compassion satisfaction and fatigue: (i) intrapersonal EI (ii) interpersonal EI, (iii) cognitive reappraisal, (iv) cognitive fusion, (v) expressive suppression, and (vi) emotional contagion. Two open-ended questionnaire items assessed the best and worst aspects of doctors and nurses’ roles that might be associated with emotional stress and potentially influence CS and CF. Data Analysis: Descriptive statistics, correlations, regression, and mediation analysis were undertaken. The two open-ended items were analysed using content analysis. Results: Only cognitive reappraisal and intra-personal EI predicted CS positively and CF negatively. Intra-personal EI was the stronger predictor. It predicted CS (β = .29, p < .001) and CF (β = - .35, p < .001) versus cognitive reappraisal CS (β = .27, p < .001) and CF (β = - .15, p < .001). Intrapersonal EI also partially mediated relationships between cognitive reappraisal and CS (b = .59, BCI .298, .927) and between cognitive reappraisal and CF (b = -.72, BCI -1.099, -.378). Content analysis of the two open-ended questionnaire items demonstrated that 54% of the enjoyable aspects of participants’ roles related to direct patient care/contact, while 60% of the least enjoyable aspects related to workplace stress, bureaucracy, lack of support and resources, and workplace politics. This provides contextual support for the main quantitative findings above, and reiterates the importance of supporting development of intrapersonal emotional intelligence skills which does help enhance reappraisal strategies required to manage undesirable effects of workplace stressors like negative emotions e.g. anger or anxiety, that can influence CS and CF. Conclusion: Intrapersonal EI represents an important target variable for possible psychological interventions aimed at enhancing CS and reducing CF in doctors and nurses in clinical settings.