ABSTRACT

Compassion fatigue (CF) is a prevalent issue in both human- and animal-care-related industries and is a concern due to its negative effect on mental health and retainment in the profession. Individuals working in animal shelters are particularly at risk for CF from exposure to euthanasia, abandonment, and cruelty to animals. The effect of CF on animal shelter employees has been well-documented; however, volunteers may also be at risk yet have received relatively little consideration. The aim of the present study was to report the degree to which animal shelter volunteers may experience CF and to identify the personal and organizational factors that are associated with increased levels of it. All shelters in Michigan, USA were invited to participate in this study. Shelters were asked to distribute an online survey to their active volunteers that consisted of questions related to CF, satisfaction with their work, input on euthanasia decisions, relationships between staff and volunteers, type of work performed, time spent volunteering, and a variety of shelter-related and personal characteristics. Volunteers (n = 530) reported varying degrees of CF, with 61% indicating in response to a single question that they were consistently preoccupied with thoughts of animals in their care. A multivariate regression model found that CF was inversely associated with feelings of satisfaction related to their volunteer work (p < 0.0001), but positively associated with time per week spent volunteering (p < 0.001) and gratitude expressed by the shelter (p = 0.003). Finally, volunteers in shelters with lower live release rates and open intake reported increased CF (p < 0.001). Overall, the data suggest that animal shelter volunteers do experience CF, and shelter-level factors may be relatively stronger predictors of it compared with personal factors. These findings may be useful for animal shelters trying to retain volunteers while also ensuring their positive mental health and overall well-being.

摘要

同情疲劳 (CF) 是人类和动物护理相关行业的普遍问题，并且因其对心理健康和职业保留的负面影响而受到关注。在动物收容所工作的人因暴露于安乐死、遗弃和虐待动物而特别容易患 CF。CF 对动物收容所员工的影响已得到充分证明；然而，志愿者也可能面临风险，但很少受到考虑。本研究的目的是报告动物收容所志愿者可能经历 CF 的程度，并确定与 CF 水平升高相关的个人和组织因素。美国密歇根州的所有庇护所都被邀请参加这项研究。收容所被要求向活跃的志愿者分发一份在线调查，其中包括与 CF、对他们工作的满意度、对安乐死决定的投入、工作人员和志愿者之间的关系、所执行的工作类型、志愿服务所花费的时间以及各种收容所的问题-相关和个人特征。志愿者（n  = 530) 报告了不同程度的 CF，61% 的人在回答一个问题时表示他们一直专注于他们照顾的动物的想法。多元回归模型发现，CF 与志愿者工作相关的满意度呈负相关 ( p  < 0.0001)，但与每周志愿服务时间 ( p  < 0.001) 和收容所表达的感激 ( p  = 0.003)呈正相关. 最后，在活体释放率和开放摄入量较低的庇护所中的志愿者报告说 CF 增加（p < 0.001)。总体而言，数据表明动物收容所志愿者确实经历过 CF，与个人因素相比，收容所级别的因素可能是相对更强的预测因子。这些发现可能有助于动物收容所试图留住志愿者，同时确保他们积极的心理健康和整体福祉。