ContactISSN:e-ISSN: 2757-976X
Author Sign-inReviewer Sign-inRegister
TürkçeEnglish
Home
About Journal
Copyright NoticeOpen Access PolicyAim and ScopePrinciples of ArbitrationReviewer and Editor GuideFee PolicyEthical Principles and Publication PolicyArchiving PolicyIndexing
Information For AuthorsEditorial BoardSend ArticleLatest IssueArchiveContact Us

Compassion FatIgue Among Male Nurses In a Closed PsychIatrIc Ward: A QualItatIve Study

Sena Özden,Fadim Büşra Keleş,Şahin Kesici,MEHMET AK

  • Sena Özden: Kızıltepe Devlet Hastanesi
  • Fadim Büşra Keleş: Yeşilyuva İlkokulu, Seyhan, Adana
  • Şahin Kesici: Necmettin Erbakan Üniversitesi, Ahmet Keleşoğlu Eğitim Fakültesi, Meram, Konya, Türkiye
  • MEHMET AK: NECMETTİN ERBAKAN ÜNİVERSİTESİ
  •  Year : 2026
  •  Vol : 6
  •  Issue : 1
  •  Page : 25-34
Objective: This study examines compassion fatigue among male nurses working in closed psychiatric wards and identifies its individual, relational, and institutional determinants. It explores ethical dilemmas and professional challenges in clinical practice within the context of gender-based role expectations, and their implications for professional identity and caregiving relationships. The study also aims to inform institution-based support strategies by identifying factors that promote emotional resilience and self-compassion. Method: The study used a qualitative research method and included ten male nurses working in a closed psychiatric ward of a state hospital. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Coding was conducted independently by two researchers, and consensus was reached on the themes. Results: The analysis identified four main themes: sources of compassion fatigue, emotional burden and responses, ethical sensitivity and professional boundaries, and efforts toward self-compassion and emotional recovery. Findings indicated that compassion fatigue is not merely individual burnout but a process shaped by emotional labor, ethical dilemmas, and institutional stressors. Protective factors included self-compassion and team support. Participant accounts revealed that greater responsibilities in safety, crisis management, and physical intervention expose male nurses to distinct stressors shaping experiences. Conclusion: Compassion fatigue in psychiatric nursing is a complex phenomenon emerging at the intersection of empathy, ethical responsibility, and institutional dynamics. Focusing on male nurses’ experiences, this study highlights the role of supervision practices supporting emotional resilience and institutional support policies. Findings suggest that, alongside psychoeducation and self-compassion–based approaches, institution-level preventive programs may be beneficial.
Conflict of interest : The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

This article is published under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
Mevlana Tıp Bilimleri
2026, Vol6, Issue1
E-ISSN: 2757-976X
Received : , Accepted : , Published Online :

References

  1. 1. Coetzee SK, Klopper HC. Compassion fatigue within nursing practice: a concept analysis. Nurs Health Sci. 2010;12(2):235–43.
  2. 2. Joinson C. Coping with compassion fatigue. Nursing. 1992;22(4):116–8.
  3. 3. Figley CR. Compassion Fatigue: Coping with Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder in Those Who Treat the Traumatized. New York: Brunner-Routledge; 1995.
  4. 4. Uslu E, Buldukoğlu K. Psikiyatri hemşireliğinde şefkat yorgunluğu: sistematik derleme [Compassion fatigue in psychiatric nursing: a systematic review]. Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar / Curr Approaches Psychiatry. 2017;9(4):421–39.
  5. 5. Karsavuran S. Sağlık sektöründe tükenmişlik: Ankara’daki Sağlık Bakanlığı hastaneleri yöneticilerinin tükenmişlik düzeyleri. Hacettepe Üniv İktisadi İdari Bilim Fak Derg. 2014;32(2):133–63.
  6. 6. Gök A. Merhamet etmenin dayanılmaz ağırlığı: hemşirelerde merhamet yorgunluğu. Süleyman Demirel Univ Iktisadi Idari Bilim Fak Derg. 2015;20(2):299–313.
  7. 7. Hiçdurmaz D, İnci FA. Eşduyum yorgunluğu: tanımı, nedenleri ve önlenmesi. Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar / Curr Approaches Psychiatry. 2015;7(3):295–303.
  8. 8. Maslach C. Burnout: a multidimensional perspective. In: Schaufeli WB, Maslach C, Marek T, editors. Professional burnout: recent developments in theory and research. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press; 2018. p.19–32.
  9. 9. Bride BE. Prevalence of secondary traumatic stress among social workers. Soc Work. 2007;52(1):63–70.
  10. 10. Cavanagh N, Cockett G, Heinrich C, Doig L, Fiest K, Guichon JR, et al. Compassion fatigue in healthcare providers: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nurs Ethics. 2020;27(3):639–65.
  11. 11. Garnett A, Hui L, Oleynikov C, Boamah S. Compassion fatigue in healthcare providers: a scoping review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2023;23(1):1336.
  12. 12. Küçükceran H, Karaoğlu N, Çayır KE, Küçükşen KM, Çukur YC. Tıp fakültesi öğrencilerinde yaşam doyumu, umutsuzluk düzeyleri ve ilişkili faktörlerin değerlendirilmesi. Mev Med Sci. 2024;4(1):28–36.
  13. 13. Naldan ME, Karayağmurlu A, Yayık M, Arı ME. Ameliyathanede çalışan sağlık profesyonellerinde tükenmişlik, iş doyumu ve depresyon. Selcuk Med J. 2019;35(3):152-8.
  14. 14. Uyar M, Boyraz YK, Gençağa K, Şahin TM. Bir üniversite hastanesinde çalışan araştırma görevlilerinin iş doyumunun değerlendirilmesi. Selcuk Med J. 2018;34(2):70-3.
  15. 15. Bodur S. Sağlık ocaklarında çalışan sağlık personelinin mesleki doyumu. Selcuk Med J. 1998;14(4):169–74.
  16. 16. Mangoulia P, Koukia E, Alevizopoulos G, Fildissis G, Katostaras T. Prevalence of secondary traumatic stress among psychiatric nurses in Greece. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2015;29(5):333–8.
  17. 17. Dickinson T, Wright KM. Stress and burnout in forensic mental health nursing: a literature review. Br J Nurs. 2008;17(2):82–7.
  18. 18. Marshman C, Hansen A, Munro I. Compassion fatigue in mental health nurses: a systematic review. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2022;29(4):529–43.
  19. 19. Xie W, Chen L, Feng F, Okoli CTC, Tang P, Zeng L, et al. The prevalence of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue among nurses: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Nurs Stud. 2021;120:103973.
  20. 20. Murray DD, Chiotu LB. How mental health nurses report their compassion fatigue. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2024;45(5):506–19.
  21. 21. Şişe Ş, Altınel EC. Bir üniversite hastanesinde yatan hasta memnuniyeti. Selcuk Tip Derg. 2012;28(4):213–8.
  22. 22. Akman Dömbekci H, Erişen MA. Nitel araştırmalarda görüşme tekniği.
  23. Anadolu Üniv Sos Bil Derg. 2022;22(Özel Sayı 2):141–60.
  24. 23. Boyatzis RE. Transforming qualitative information: thematic analysis and code development. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage Publications; 1998.
  25. 24. Kutlu Y, Sinat Ö. Psikiyatri kliniklerinde çalışan hemşirelerde tükenmişlik. Florence Nightingale Hemşirelik Dergisi. 2007;17(3):174–83.
  26. 25. Kayaoğlu K, Aslanoğlu E. Determining the Relationship Between Burnout Syndrome in Psychiatric Nurses and Compassion Fatigue. Turkiye Klinikleri J Nurs Sci. 2021;13(3):676–82.
  27. 26. Lombardo B, Eyre C. Compassion fatigue: a nurse’s primer. Online J Issues Nurs. 2011;16(1).
  28. 27. Erbe AM. Compassion fatigue and mental health in health care professionals. Workplace Health Saf. 2022;70(6):303.
  29. 28. Xie W, Wang J, Okoli CTC, He H, Feng F, Zhuang L, et al. Prevalence and factors of compassion fatigue among Chinese psychiatric nurses: a cross-sectional study. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020;99(29):e21083.
  30. 29. Collins S, Long A. Working with the psychological effects of trauma: consequences for mental health‐care workers – a literature review. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2003;10(4):417–24.
  31. 30. Berger J, Polivka B, Smoot EA, Owens H. Compassion fatigue in pediatric nurses. J Pediatr Nurs. 2015;30(6):11–7.
  32. 31. Sinclair S, Raffin-Bouchal S, Venturato L, Mijovic-Kondejewski J, Smith-MacDonald L. Compassion fatigue: a meta-narrative review of the healthcare literature. Int J Nurs Stud. 2017;69:9–24.
  33. 32. Lauvrud C, Nonstad K, Palmstierna T. Occurrence of post-traumatic stress symptoms and their relationship to professional quality of life (ProQoL) in nursing staff at a forensic psychiatric security unit: a cross-sectional study. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2009;7(1):31.
  34. 33. Austin CL, Saylor R, Finley PJ. Moral distress in physicians and nurses: impact on professional quality of life and turnover. Psychol Trauma. 2017;9(4):399–406.
  35. 34. Ohnishi K, Ohgushi Y, Nakano M, et al. Moral distress experienced by psychiatric nurses in Japan. Nurs Ethics. 2010;17(6):726–40.
  36. 35. Alimoradi Z, Jafari E, Lin CY, et al. Estimation of moral distress among nurses. Nurs Ethics. 2023;30(3):334–57.
  37. 36. Avci A, Ozer MR, Ay ME. Is being an emergency service professional a risk factor for violence in healthcare? Selcuk Med J. 2024;40(1):39–44.
  38. 37. Gauci P, Luck L, O'Reilly K, Peters K. Workplace gender discrimination in the nursing workforce. J Clin Nurs. 2023;32(17–18):5693–711.
  39. 38. Reedy N, Luyke T, McGregor R, King R, Dawson R, Robinson B, et al. Men in mental health: a scoping review of challenges, contributions, and future possibilities of recruiting into nursing. Nurs Rep. 2025;15(3):97.
  40. 39. Alqarni T, Alghamdi A, Alzahrani A, et al. Prevalence of stress, burnout, and job satisfaction. PLoS One. 2022;17(4):e0267578.
  41. 40. Shahrour G, Taha I, Ali AM, Alibrahim M. The moderating role of social support. Nurs Forum. 2022;57(6):1281–8.
  42. 41. Brotheridge CM, Grandey AA. Emotional labor and burnout. J Vocat Behav. 2002;60(1):17–39.
  43. 42. Inoue M, Tsukano K, Muraoka M, Kaneko F, Okamura H. Psychological impact of verbal abuse and violence by patients on nurses working in psychiatric departments. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2006;60(1):29–36.
  44. 43. Dündar AH. Erkek toplumsal cinsiyet rolü stresi ve psikolojik iyi oluş ilişkisinde duyguları tanıma ve duyguların ifadesinin rolü. Int J Soc Humanit Sci Res. 2024;11(108):1080–7.
  45. 44. Meadors P, Lamson A. Compassion Fatigue and Secondary Traumatization: Provider Self Care on Intensive Care Units for Children. Journal of Pediatric Health Care. 2008;22(1):24–34.
  46. 45. Upton KV. An investigation into compassion fatigue and self-compassion. J Compassionate Health Care. 2018;5(1):1–27.
  47. 46. Crego A, Yela JR, Vicente-Arruebarrena A, Riesco-Matías P, Gómez-Martínez MÁ. The benefits of self-compassion in mental health professionals: a systematic review of empirical research. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2022;15:2599–2620.
  48. 47. 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 Community. 2022;30(5):1680–94.
  49. 48. Nishihara T, Ohashi A, Nakashima Y, Yamashita T, Hiyama K, Kuroiwa M. Compassion fatigue in a health care worker treating COVID-19 patients: a case report. Biopsychosoc Med. 2022;16(1):10. doi:10.1186/s13030-022-00239-0.
  50. 49. Paiva-Salisbury ML, Schwanz KA. Building compassion fatigue resilience: awareness, prevention, and intervention for pre-professionals and current practitioners. J Health Serv Psychol. 2022;48(1):39–46. doi:10.1007/s42843-022-00054-9.
  51. 50. Patole S, Pawale D, Rath C. Interventions for compassion fatigue in healthcare providers: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Healthcare (Basel). 2024;12(2):171.