Job Satisfaction, Compassion Fatigue and Compassion
Satisfaction in Hospice and Palliative Social Workers

Thank you for your interest in this research study.

The purpose of this study is to explore the levels of job satisfaction, compassion satisfaction, burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and overall work satisfaction among hospice and palliative social workers.

By participating, you will contribute to a better understanding of the work experience of social workers in this specialty area. This is the first nationwide study of job satisfaction, intent to leave, compassion fatigue and burnout among hospice and palliative social workers.

It is hoped that the knowledge gained will be used by employers to improve work environments and by social workers to better understand work stressors and how to cope in their work settings.

To be eligible to participate you must:

• Be a social worker
• Be currently employed (full- or part-time) in a position where you practice hospice and palliative social work

If you choose to participate, click on the link below which will take you to a preamble consent and the survey. The anonymous survey will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. Participation is entirely voluntary; once you start the survey, you must complete it as you cannot save your answers and return to the site.

As a thank you for participating in this survey, we would like to offer you a chance to enter a drawing to win a palliative social work textbook.

► Take the Survey

About the Principal Investigator

Barbara Head, Ph.D., CHPN, ACSW, FPCN, is an associate professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine where she is involved in palliative care interprofessional education, curriculum development and research.

She has been an active member of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association for many years and served as member and President of the HPNA Board and the National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses.

Her completed research includes studies of job satisfaction and attitudes towards specialty certification among hospice and palliative nursing assistants, telehealth interventions in advanced cancer, palliative care case management, and educational outcomes of a curriculum teaching palliative care to nursing, social work, chaplaincy and medical students.

Contact Dr. Head at 502-852-3014, or barbara.head@louisville.edu.