Recognition and Management of Compassion Fatigue

From pandemics to other public health emergencies and disasters—as well as in routine contexts—public health practitioners are very much on the front lines of the helping professions. In their varied critical roles, public health providers are potentially subject not only to physical fatigue, but also to psychological fatigue. This latter category of fatigue can entail emotionally relevant stress among public health workers, borne of their compassion in serving their communities; this particular type of fatigue is known as compassion fatigue. This interactive webinar defines compassion fatigue and its relevance to public health workers and characterizes how compassion fatigue can manifest and be managed in public health providers.

Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• describe why compassion fatigue is an occupationally-relevant psychosocial challenge for public health and health care professionals;
• list three risk factors for compassion fatigue
• explain how compassion fatigue manifests; and
• describe intervention and coping strategies to mitigate compassion fatigue.