Compassion Fatigue, Perceived Workload and Fatalism Among Nurses

Abstract

Nurses frequently experience compassion fatigue due to constant exposure to patient suffering, heavy workloads, and fatalistic beliefs. These factors lead to emotional exhaustion, burnout, reduced empathy, and lower care quality. Understanding workload and fatalism is essential for improving nurses’ well-being, resilience, and overall patient outcomes. For this purpose, H1 is Fatalism will positively predict compassion fatigue among nurses and H2 is Perceived workload will positively predict compassion fatigue among nurses. The study used a quantitative correlational design with 300 purposively selected registered nurses in Sargodha. Data were collected via validated Likert-scale tools measuring compassion fatigue, workload, and fatalism. Ethical approval, informed consent, and confidentiality were ensured. Stratified sampling and SPSS analysis established relationships among the key variables. Results showed high reliability for all scales. Compassion fatigue correlated positively with fatalism and perceived workload, with the strongest correlation between fatalism and workload. Regression analysis indicated fatalism explained 55% of compassion fatigue variance, while workload explained 5%. Both variables significantly predicted increased compassion fatigue among nurses. The study concluded that the compassion fatigue among nurses is strongly influenced by fatalistic beliefs and perceived workload. Addressing these factors through supportive interventions is essential to improve nurses’ psychological well-being and quality of patient care.