Most nurses enter the field of Nursing with the intent of helping others and providing empathetic care for patients with critical physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. However, providing empathetic care can take a tool on them as they navigate through their profession. This study was carried out to investigate the perceived impacts of compassion fatigue among nurses in LUTH, Idi-Araba. Questionnaire was used to gather information from 186 respondents who were selected using multistage sampling technique. Prevalence was measured using the post-traumatic stress scale. Data collected was analysed using SPSS version 22 and the results were represented with frequency tables and charts. Finding from the study shows that 30.1% met the criteria for moderate compassion fatigue while 45.1% and 15% met for high and severe compassion fatigue respectively. Some of the impacts of compassion fatigue as identified by the nurses include burnout (74. 8%), decreased sensed sense of empathy (68.8%), frequent fall-out or relationship breakdown with patients (68.8%) and tendency for the nurse to make medication errors (61.4%). Coping strategies adopted by the nurses are mostly problem-focus and include balancing of work life and home demands (78.5%), finding time to rest (76.4%), and ensuring peace with family members and neighbours (72%). Recommendation for the study included provision of professional counselling, elongation of annual leave duration and employment of more nurses.
Keywords: Coping Strategies, compassion fatigue, perceived impact
