The Effect of a Respite Room on the Severity of Secondary Traumatic Stress in Pediatric Oncology Nurses

The stress that pediatric oncology nurses endure leads to compassion fatigue which in turn leads to poor retention rates, increasing the workload of remaining nurses which then continues the cycle. Three components of compassion fatigue include secondary traumatic stress, compassion satisfaction, and burnout. Research has found a significant negative relationship between compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue while a strong positive relationship was observed between compassion fatigue and burnout. The use of a respite room is deemed to be effective against compassion fatigue amongst pediatric oncology nurses.