Compassion Satisfaction, Compassion Fatigue, and Burnout in Spain and Brazil: ProQOL validation and cross-cultural diagnosis

Abstract Context Palliative care professionals’ quality of life has emerged as a growing issue of interest in healthcare literature, centered on concerns about professionals’ compassion within a context of work characterized by pain and death. Objectives The aim of this study is threefold: (1) to study the psychometric properties of both the Spanish and the Portuguese versions of the ProQOL scale, by means of confirmatory factor analyses; (2) to offer a diagnosis of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue levels of Spanish and Brazilian palliative care professionals; and (3) to compare levels in ProQOL between countries. Methods Two surveys with a cross-sectional design were carried out. 161 Brazilian palliative care professionals and 385 Spanish participated in this study. Results Confirmatory factor analysis for both the Spanish and the Portuguese versions showed an adequate fit. Reliability estimates were also adequate, with problems with the burnout dimension. Spanish and Brazilian palliative care professionals showed high levels of compassion satisfaction (specially, for the Brazilian samples), medium levels of secondary traumatic stress, and low levels of burnout. Finally, statistically significant differences in Spanish and Brazilian levels of compassion satisfaction and secondary traumatic stress were found, but not in burnout. Conclusion the ProQOL shows psychometric goodness in its Spanish and Portuguese versions, although some items should be revised. Additionally, it is useful for diagnosis and is sensitive enough to distinguish nuances as the found between Brazilian and Spanish professionals.