Construction of Psychological Resilience among Palliative Care Practitioners

Abstract

Palliative care is important care for the advanced cancer and end-stage chronic diseases. The goal of such care is to prolong the lives of patients but also to alleviate their suffering, enhance their quality of life and maintain their dignity. However, palliative care professionals are expected to approach patient distress and loss of life and family bereavement and are vulnerable to burnout, compassion fatigue, emotional exhaustion and secondary traumatic stress. Psychological resilience is regarded as a significant psychological resource that practitioners use to manage their occupational stress, to maintain their mental health and to provide quality care. This review examines pathways to develop psychological resilience for palliative care practitioners such as practice of mindfulness, self-care, cognitive behavioral therapy, peer support and organizational support measures. Based on previous studies in this field, it is assumed that these interventions will contribute to the regulation of emotions, restoration of psychological resources, reduction of negative thoughts and increase in team support on various levels. Current studies have many limitations, including short-term follow-up, low patient numbers, and lack of long-term evidence. Future research can build on the existing research, especially regarding the sustainability of interventions in real work settings and how interventions directed to individual palliative care practitioners, teams and institutions can be better combined to give palliative care practitioners more stable psychological assistance.