The Buddy System: An Intervention to Reduce Distress and Compassion Fatigue and Promote Resilience on a Palliative Care Team During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (COVID-19) dramatically increased the number of stressors on healthcare workers, including palliative care practitioners. Restrictions and increased demands on time made it difficult for the UMass Memorial Health palliative care team to utilize preexisting wellness strategies. In response to team members' stress reactions, a buddy system intervention was conceived and implemented to restore a sense of connection and self-efficacy (Phase 1). Our objective with this quality improvement project was to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the buddy system and evaluate staff attitudes toward this intervention. After four months, feedback from team members informed redesign to a more structured buddy system (Phase 2). A mixed-methods design of this project included a qualitative online survey along with quantitative data collection with the Professional Quality of Life Scale V (ProQOL V) and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) during Phase 1. Phase 2 was also evaluated quantitatively with ProQOL V and BRS. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at the end of this project to enhance qualitative data on staff attitudes and beliefs. Of the 12 study participants, 10 completed all phases of the study. Participants reported the buddy system was a useful, easy-to-implement intervention for mitigating personal distress and compassion fatigue (CF) by providing a strong sense of support and connection to team members.