Perceptions of coping strategies among professionals working with people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Abstract

The socio-health professionals are particularly exposed to psychosocial risk factors that can affect their quality of life, especially when working with people with incapacitating and incurable diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). According to the scientific literature, working with people who are at the end of their lives, sometimes causes the onset of burnout or empathy fatigue, among other stressful consequences.
The objective of the present article is to know the perception that the healthcare professionals have of their own strategies of coping when they work with people affected by ALS. To this end, a sample of 22 socio-health workers attending people affected by the disease in the Region of Valencia, have self-assessed the level of rational and emotional coping they have of ALS, as well as their training in these issues and their professional satisfaction. The study shows that the predominant level of coping is of a medium degree and it makes relevant that there are deficiencies in their training about how to communicate bad news and in the accompaniment of sick people and their relatives. Nevertheless, they are satisfied with the work they do.