The potential for COVID‐19 to contribute to compassion fatigue in critical care nurses

Abstract

<p>As of April 2020, more than 2 million people worldwide had tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 200,000 deaths are attributed to this virus. It is estimated that around 15% of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 will develop severe health complications, and around 5%–10% will require intensive level care due to the seriousness of the symptoms and the high mortality risk (3%–5%) (Baud et al., 2020; Murthy, Gomersall, & Fowler, 2020). At the time of writing, COVID-19 has caused the need for hospitalisation of thousands of people due to the serious pneumonia type symptoms that result in extreme breathing difficulty. Critical care units in hospitals around the world are treating people experiencing potentially life-threatening COVID-19 symptoms. In some of these settings, the pressure on staff is compounded by a lack of adequate personal protection equipment (PPE) and staff shortages, as well as shortages of beds and mechanical ventilators.</p>