Title: Burnout and Compassion Fatigue as Determinants of Psychological Wellbeing among Parents of Children with Disabilities.
Authors: Paul Timileyin Kehinde
Volume: 8
Issue: 8
Pages: 24-31
Publication Date: 2024/08/28
Abstract:
Mental health of every individual is paramount to leading a better life. However, the stressors of life can drastically affect every individual leading to poor psychological wellbeing particularly among parents of children with disabilities (PCwDs) who are experiencing burnout and compassion fatigue. This research utilized a non-experimental survey method to investigate the influence of burnout and compassion fatigue on the psychological wellbeing of PCwDs in Oyo State, Nigeria. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 200 parents of children with hearing, learning, visual, and physical disabilities. The data for this study was collected from the paticipant using a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS version 25. The analysis of Pearson Correlation result revealed a significant inverse relationship between psychological wellbeing, burnout, and compassion fatigue. Burnout and compassion fatigue significantly jointly predict psychological wellbeing of PCwDs which accounted for 39% variance. Thus, burnout and Compassion fatigue independently predict psychological wellbeing of PCwDs. Moreover, the independent t-test analysis revealed that gender did not have an influence, on burnout or compassion fatigue and this implies that both parents go through the same level of burnout and compassion fatigue. The research findings emphasize how burnout and compassion fatigue negatively influence the psychological wellbeing of PCwDs; lack of support from the government or society further worsens these effects on PCwDs. Therefore, Governmental support, implementation of stress management initiatives, and offering training for healthcare providers are crucial and essential for enhancing the psychological wellbeing and mental health of PCwDs.