Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic places additional strain on healthcare detrimental to the well-being of primary health care workforce, increasing their risk for compassion fatigue (CF). Identifying individuals at risk and needing intervention is essential to lessen the prevalence and negative consequences of CF Objective: To determine the prevalence of compassion satisfaction (CS) and components of CF - burnout(BO) and secondary traumatic stress(STS) - and significant score differences in terms of identified factors among clinic staff of a chain of communitybased primary care clinics in Manila, Quezon City, Marikina, Caloocan, and Valenzuela during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional design with survey methodology was implemented. Online self- administered questionnaire with demographic survey, Perceived Stress Scale, and ProQoL 5, was pilot tested then administered to 68 clinic staff in 13 clinics in Manila, Quezon City, Marikina, Caloocan, and Valenzuela. One-tailed t-test was applied to determine score differences for each subscale (95% confidence interval). Results: 53 participants responded. Most had high levels of CS (79.47%), BO (73.6%), and STS (73.60%). Higher CS scores were found in those with safe working environment (mean=52.02, p = 0.048) and attendees of company-sponsored illness mitigation programs (mean=53.22, p = 0.043). Those who travel ≥1 hour have higher BO (mean=53.46, p=0.038). Those with adequate managerial support (mean 53.35, p = 0.045), patient interaction ≥15 minutes (mean 52.38, p = 0.028), and allied staff with ≥20 patients per day (mean 53.68, p = 0.013) have higher STS. No differences were found for the other investigated factors. Conclusion and Recommendations The study determined that the primary care workers in the studied population were not spared from the burden of high CF despite having high CS. This becomes a quality assurance concern, hence mitigation programs addressing these concerns as well as follow-up studies with pooled data and evaluation for associated risk factors are recommended.
Compassion Fatigue ; COVID-19