Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Care for the Caregiver Peer Support Program in Mitigating the Effects of Distress, Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, and Improving Work Satisfaction in Peer Caregivers
Open Access DepositedHealthcare professionals experience persistently high levels of distress, burnout, and compassion fatigue, which affect their own well-being, workforce stability, and patient care. Structured peer support programs have emerged as a promising strategy to strengthen coping and foster mutual support among healthcare workers. However, most evaluations focus on those receiving peer support, with limited attention to the peer caregivers who deliver it. This pilot exploratory study evaluates the Care for the Caregiver (CFC) Program implemented within the George Washington University (GW) medical enterprise. Program trains healthcare professionals in Psychological First Aid (PFA) principles and structured peer support skills.A convergent mixed-methods evaluation guided by the Knowledge–Attitudes–Behaviors (KAB) framework was conducted. Quantitative data were collected using a pre–post design with assessments administered one week before the training and three months after the training. Outcomes included burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction measured using the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL-5), along with two Likert items assessing confidence and comfort in supporting colleagues in distress. Qualitative data were collected through interviews, focus groups, and open-ended survey responses and analyzed thematically. Findings were integrated through triangulation. Results indicated reductions in burnout and secondary traumatic stress, stable compassion satisfaction, and increased confidence in applying peer support skills, with more modest improvements in comfort engaging colleagues in distress. Item-level analyses showed consistent reductions in indicators related to emotional exhaustion, systemic strain, intrusive thoughts, and difficulty separating work and personal life. Qualitative findings suggested improved conceptual clarity, boundary-setting, and emotional regulation when engaging distressed colleagues. Integration of the quantitative and qualitative strands revealed convergent patterns across the KAB domains, suggesting alignment between measurable outcomes and participants lived experiences. Because the study employed a pre–post design without a comparison group and included a modest matched sample, findings are exploratory and associative rather than causal. Nevertheless, results suggest that structured peer support training may contribute to improved coping capacity and peer caregiver well-being. As healthcare systems confront persistent workforce distress, peer support training may represent a promising component of broader organizational strategies to promote resilience and mutual support.
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Karakcheyeva_gwu_0075A_17764.pdf | 2026-06-24 | Open Access |
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