Effects of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress on current drug use among healthcare workers: Differences by occupational level

Abstract

Work-related stress has been well-examined among physicians, but little is known about how it might affect drug use or healthcare workers in lower-wage occupations characterized by high job demands and low occupational autonomy (e.g., medical assistants, nursing assistants). In March 2022, we collected data from a diverse sample of healthcare workers (N = 200). We separately examined the cross-sectional relationships between several work-related experiences (i.e., compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress) and measures of current drug use (i.e., non-medical use of prescription drugs [NMUPD], cannabis use, and illicit drug use). We then examined for differences occupational level (i.e., prescriber/administrator vs. other healthcare worker). In main effects models, greater burnout and secondary traumatic stress were both associated with higher odds of NMUPD, cannabis use, and illicit drug use (ps < 0.01). Greater compassion satisfaction was associated with lower odds of illicit drug use (p < 0.05), but not with NMUPD or cannabis use (ps > 0.05). There was a significant interaction between secondary traumatic stress and occupational level on NMUPD (p < 0.05) such that there was no relationship between secondary traumatic stress and NMUPD among prescribers/administrators, but the likelihood of NMUPD among other healthcare workers increased with greater secondary traumatic stress. Similar trend-level interactions were observed between secondary traumatic stress and occupational level on cannabis use (p < 0.10) and between burnout and occupational level on NMUPD. Burnout and secondary traumatic stress are systemic issues, and results suggest they may contribute to drug use. Healthcare workers in positions characterized by high demands and low autonomy may be especially vulnerable.