TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of alexithymia and empathy on radiation therapists' professional quality of life
AU - Franco, Pierfrancesco
AU - Tesio, Valentina
AU - Bertholet, Jenny
AU - Gasnier, Anne
AU - Gonzalez Del Portillo, Elisabet
AU - Spalek, Mateusz
AU - Bibault, Jean-Emmanuel
AU - Borst, Gerben
AU - Van Elmpt, Wouter
AU - Thorwarth, Daniela
AU - Mullaney, Laura
AU - Røe Redalen, Kathrine
AU - Dubois, Ludwig
AU - Chargari, Cyrus
AU - Perryck, Sophie
AU - Heukelom, Jolien
AU - Petit, Steven
AU - Lybeer, Myriam
AU - Castelli, Lorys
N1 - © 2020 The Author(s).
PY - 2020/9
Y1 - 2020/9
N2 - Background and purpose: Physical and mental well-being are crucial for oncology professionals as they affect performance at work. Personality traits, as alexithymia and empathy, may influence professional quality of life. Alexithymia involves diminished skills in emotion processing and awareness. Empathy is pertinent to the ability to understand another's 'state of mind/emotion'. The PROject on Burn-Out in RadiatioN Oncology (PRO BONO) investigates professional quality of life amongst radiation oncology professionals, exploring the role of alexithymia and empathy. The present study reports on data pertinent to radiation therapists (RTTs).Material and methods: An online survey targeted ESTRO members. Participants were asked to fill out 3 questionnaires for alexithymia, empathy and professional quality of life: (a) Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20); (b) Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI); (c) Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQoL). The present analysis focuses on RTTS to evaluate compassion satisfaction (CS), secondary traumatic stress (STS) and Burnout and their correlation with alexithymia and empathy, using generalized linear modeling. Covariates found significant at univariate linear regression analysis were included in the multivariate linear regression model.Results: A total of 399 RTTs completed all questionnaires. The final model for the burnout scale of ProQoL found, as significal predictors, the TAS-20 total score (β = 0.46, p < 0 0.001), and the individual's perception of being valued by supervisor (β = -0.29, p < 0.001). With respect to CS, the final model included TAS-20 total score (β = -0.33, p < 0.001), the Empatic Concern domain (β = 0.23, p < 0.001) of the IRI questionnaire and the individual's perception of being valued by colleagues (β = 0.22, p < 0.001).Conclusions: Alexithymia increased the likelyhood to experience burnout and negatively affected the professional quality of life amongst RTTs working in oncology. Empathy resulted in higher professional fulfillment together with collegaues' appreciation. These results may be used to benchmark preventing strategies and implement organization-direct and/or individual-directed interventions.
AB - Background and purpose: Physical and mental well-being are crucial for oncology professionals as they affect performance at work. Personality traits, as alexithymia and empathy, may influence professional quality of life. Alexithymia involves diminished skills in emotion processing and awareness. Empathy is pertinent to the ability to understand another's 'state of mind/emotion'. The PROject on Burn-Out in RadiatioN Oncology (PRO BONO) investigates professional quality of life amongst radiation oncology professionals, exploring the role of alexithymia and empathy. The present study reports on data pertinent to radiation therapists (RTTs).Material and methods: An online survey targeted ESTRO members. Participants were asked to fill out 3 questionnaires for alexithymia, empathy and professional quality of life: (a) Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20); (b) Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI); (c) Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQoL). The present analysis focuses on RTTS to evaluate compassion satisfaction (CS), secondary traumatic stress (STS) and Burnout and their correlation with alexithymia and empathy, using generalized linear modeling. Covariates found significant at univariate linear regression analysis were included in the multivariate linear regression model.Results: A total of 399 RTTs completed all questionnaires. The final model for the burnout scale of ProQoL found, as significal predictors, the TAS-20 total score (β = 0.46, p < 0 0.001), and the individual's perception of being valued by supervisor (β = -0.29, p < 0.001). With respect to CS, the final model included TAS-20 total score (β = -0.33, p < 0.001), the Empatic Concern domain (β = 0.23, p < 0.001) of the IRI questionnaire and the individual's perception of being valued by colleagues (β = 0.22, p < 0.001).Conclusions: Alexithymia increased the likelyhood to experience burnout and negatively affected the professional quality of life amongst RTTs working in oncology. Empathy resulted in higher professional fulfillment together with collegaues' appreciation. These results may be used to benchmark preventing strategies and implement organization-direct and/or individual-directed interventions.
U2 - 10.1016/j.tipsro.2020.07.001
DO - 10.1016/j.tipsro.2020.07.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 32904144
SN - 2405-6324
VL - 15
SP - 29
EP - 36
JO - Technical Innovations and Patient Support in Radiation Oncology
JF - Technical Innovations and Patient Support in Radiation Oncology
ER -