Background: Expatriation and relocation into a new cultural context constitute a psychological journey marked by exposure to potentially traumatic events, the abandonment of the homeland and the effort of seeking safety and a new beginning at all levels.
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the Professional Quality of Life in Greek health professionals working with refugees and migrants.
Methods: The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL V) and a demographic and work-related characteristics questionnaire were distributed to 90 health professionals working with migrants and refugees.
Results: 25.6% of participants reported high CF risk while 75.7% expressed high to moderate potential for CS. Awareness of the factors associated with CF may help health professionals to prevent or offset the development of this condition.
Conclusion: A compassionate organizational culture, clinical supervision and on-going education may protect health professionals working with migrants and refugees from absorbing or internalizing unmanageable emotions which may lead to compassion fatigue and also help them to gain a deeper understanding of their communication and interactions during the emotionally laden moments of trauma care.
Keywords: Burnout; Compassion Satisfaction; Compassion fatigue; Emotional work; Migrants; Professional Quality of Life; Refugees; Secondary Post-traumatic Stress; Trauma.
© 2021 Theokliti Mavratza, Paraskevi Apostolara, Theodoula Adamakidou, Georgia Fasoi, Marianna Mantzorou, Alexandra Mantoudi, Mariana Drakopoulou, Evdokia Misouridou.