Depression and empathy in health professionals who work in the long-term care institutions for older adults

Abstract

Empathy is an important factor to guarantee the quality of care provided in the long-term care institutions (LTCIs) for older adults, and depression is a factor that affects the health of the professional and, consequently, the care. Thus, it is important that studies are conducted on the relationship of these variables in this context. Objective: The aim of this study is to verify the relationship between empathy and depressive symptoms among health professionals working in the LTCIs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at LTCIs in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The final sample was constituted by 101 health professionals (i.e., caregivers and nursing technicians) with direct participation in the care of institutionalized older adults. The instruments were used as follows: the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) to assess empathy and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for the diagnosis of depression. For the analyses, the patients were divided into groups with and without depression, according to the score of the PHQ-9. Results: The prevalence of depression among health professionals was 19.8%. Significant statistical differences were found between the groups for the total score of the IRI (p=0.029), for the emotional domain (p=0.023), and for the personal distress (p=0.009). Conclusions: The findings indicate that the presence of depression among health professionals at LTCIs is related to the higher levels of empathy, especially in the emotional domain. Thus, future studies that contribute to understanding how care must be provided with empathy, but without harming the health of the professional, should be carried out.

Empathy in nursing professionals for care subjects with depression

“…El deterioro o alteración de la salud mental puede perjudicar no solo su propia salud sino también la calidad de la asistencia prestada. (2) Si bien la empatía es uno de los principales factores que conducen a la calidad de la atención, el poco equilibrio, puede terminar causando daño a la salud de los profesionales.…”

“…Los profesionales de la salud que también presentan depresión tienen un mayor riesgo de experimentar agotamiento, lo que puede afectar negativamente la calidad de la atención prestada a los sujetos de atención. La prevalencia de depresión en este grupo fue del 19,8 %, lo que destaca la importancia de abordar adecuadamente la salud mental de los profesionales sanitarios (2). Resultados similares fueron descritos por Marshman et al(17) En cuanto a la empatía, se encontró que los profesionales con depresión mostraron niveles más altos de empatía, especialmente en el dominio emocional (18).…”

Emotion regulation and mental health among professionals of long-term care institutions for older adults: The mediating role of work engagement

“…For instance, a review showed that 25-75% of health-care professionals in geriatric settings are likely to experience burnout ( Sanchez et al, 2015 ). Also, a recent study conducted in Brazil showed that almost 20% of the professionals working in long-term care institutions for older adults experienced depression ( Borges et al, 2021 ). Other negative outcomes, such as poor quality of life and stress, have been found within this profession, in comparison to age- and sex-matched populations (see Costello et al, 2019 for a review).…”