From powerlessness to recognition the meaning of palliative care clinicians' experience of suffering

• Published in: International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being Vol. 15; no. 1; p. 1852362
• Main Authors: Vachon, Mélanie, Guité-Verret, Alexandra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis 01.01.2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Acknowledgment; Alienation; Burnout; Compassion; Empirical Studies; Interdisciplinary aspects; Interpretative phenomenological analysis; Interviews; Meaning; Medical personnel; Multidisciplinary teams; Occupational stress; Palliative care; Palliative care clinicians; palliative care professionals; Phenomenology; powerlessness; Qualitative research; recognition; Suffering; Sympathy; Vicarious trauma; powerlessness; interpretative phenomenological analysis; suffering; recognition; Palliative care clinicians; burnout; palliative care professionals
• ISSN: 1748-2631; 1748-2623; 1748-2631
• DOI: 10.1080/17482631.2020.1852362

Palliative care (PC) clinicians work alongside people who are at the end of their lives. These patients face death and suffering, which may also cause significant suffering for the PC clinicians themselves. Previous studies suggest that a significant number of PC professionals suffer from compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma and burnout. However, very few studies have attempted to better understand the meaning of PC clinicians' lived experience of suffering in its complexity and intricacy. Drawing upon Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), this study aimed to explore the PC clinicians' experience of suffering from a phenomenological and existential perspective. In-depth interviews were conducted with twenty-one specialized PC clinicians who were all part of the same multidisciplinary team. Interviews were analysed using IPA. The three emerging essential themes describing the meaning of clinicians' suffering were 1) Suffering as powerlessness; 2) suffering as non-recognition and 3) easing suffering: the promise of recognition. Result interpretation was based on Paul Ricoeur's existential phenomenology of suffering and recognition. The conclusion calls for support initiatives and interventions aimed at promoting recognition among PC clinicians on personal, professional, and institutional levels.