Risk Factors of Compassion Fatigue among Clergy Care providers: A Study of the Full Gospel Church, in Kasarani Sub-County, Nairobi Kenya

Abstract

Compassion fatigue which is characterised by emotional and physical exhaustion as a result of excessive exposure to human suffering is a common phenomenon among professional care providers. It has been extensively researched on and documented among other mental health providers but little information has been written in regard to this phenomenon among the Full Gospel Church Clergymen/women. This study explores the risk factors of compassion fatigue among the clergy. The study utilized the quantitative approach of data collection. The selected sample of 14 males and 3 females clergy care providers from the Full Gospel church, Nairobi North District completed a modified ProQOL-CSF-R-III instrument and a questionnaire to assess the negative and positive effects of helping others. The findings of this study established that empathic ability and empathic response together explain 30.8% of the variation in compassion fatigue among respondents (R2=.308, p<.05), with empathic response accounting for the highest explanatory power. Respondents were free from health related risk factors known to predispose care –givers to compassion fatigue. Most of the respondents had experienced a traumatic event in the recent past, and had dependents under their care, thus potentially increasing their vulnerability to compassion fatigue. Majority of the respondents spend between 30 to 40 hours a week providing pastoral counseling besides other duties. The weekly average number of clients seen by the respondents is 7, which translates to at least 1 client a day, suggesting that they are exposed to traumatic narrations of clients on a daily basis. The implication of this study is that clergy who derive satisfaction from compassion response should pursue self-care and therapy services. Proper support systems should also be put in place to buffer clergy caregivers against adverse effects of trauma care. The church should consolidate and reinforce social support systems available within and without the church through incentives and collaboration with social support stakeholders. Theological education programs should incorporate education on the relationship between compassion fatigue and provision of helping services. Candidates should especially be taught strategies of disengaging from the traumatic environment without necessarily abandoning the client.