A systematic review of arts therapies interventions for work related stress in health care professionals

Abstract

The care, compassion and empathy that healthcare professionals exhibit towards their clients/patients can prove physically, psychically, mentally, and economically costly. Exposure to a client/patient's trauma or distress can negatively impact on the healthcare professional's mental and physical health and wellbeing, and can adversely affect their quality of life. This systematic review focussed on the role of the arts therapies to reduce burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and vicarious traumatisation. A total of 19 relevant studies were identified, of which eight were qualitative, eight were quantitative and three were mixed methods. Investigation showed that burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and vicarious traumatisation are prevalent in the field of healthcare work, and that South African healthcare workers are particularly susceptible to the development thereof. Studies reported mixed results of arts therapy interventions. Seventy-two percent of studies reported results supporting the use of the arts therapies as interventions for these conditions in the healthcare profession. Recommendations are made for longer term studies, and for follow-up information to be included in research.