The Influence of Self-Care in the Prevention of Compassion Fatigue in Domestic Violence Advocates

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how domestic violence advocates who work with physically, mentally, sexually or financially abused clients in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, described the influence of self-care in the prevention of compassion fatigue. Research question one for this study centered on what self-care techniques do domestic violence advocates describe as typically being used in the prevention of compassion fatigue. Whereas, research question two asked how domestic violence advocates use self-care to prevent compassion fatigue. The sample for this study were domestic violence advocates who worked at domestic violence organizations in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The theoretical framework utilized for this study was Dorothea Orem’s theory of self-care. Interviews and a focus group served as data collection instruments, with thirteen participants engaged in semi-structured interviews, and six participants in the focus group for a total of nineteen study participants. Thematic analysis was utilized to analyze the data collected for this study. The results described the role that boundaries, self-awareness, colleague/organizational care, holistic well-being, the influence on victims, quality of professional life and self-care techniques, play in the prevention of compassion fatigue in domestic violence advocates. Future research should explore the role that organizational culture and leadership styles play in the self-care and compassion fatigue of domestic violence advocates.