Effect of a Debriefing on Compassion Fatigue Levels in Public Health Nurses after Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, & Jeanne

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect a debriefing had on Compassion Fatigue levels as measured by the Compassion Fatigue Self Test (CFST) in public health nurses employed by the Florida Department of Health who provided care to the victims of the hurricanes that occurred in the fall of 2004. 500 surveys were mailed to these nurses. While 120 returned the survey, 89 completed the entire survey and thus, were the sample for this study. This study also examined the effect the debriefing had on the CFST subscales of STS and burnout. A 2X2 Factorial ANOVA was used to analyze the data generated from the sample. This revealed there was no significant change in the CFST scores related to the debriefing. There was, however, a decrease in Compassion Fatigue scores overall and in the sub scale of STS from the week of the hurricanes to the time the test was administered post hurricanes, regardless of participation in debriefing. Implications for nursing practice and research are presented.