SECONDARY TRAUMATIZATION IN THE CAREGIVERS – UNIQUE CASE OF COMPASSION FATIGUE IN A RELIEF WORKER

Secondary Traumatization

Abstract

Introduction

An earthquake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck Pakistan on the 8th of October 2005, epicentre in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. There were more than 80,000 dead, 3.5 million rendered homeless and more than 2.5 million injured.

In order to understand the concept of “Secondary Trauma”, we need to map out the disaster zone. Different kinds of helpers working in the disaster area including medical personnel and paramedics, Armed forces personnel, search and rescue workers, fire safety workers, transport drivers, workers of national and foreign NGOs, security investigators, mental health and social service personnel, volunteers from elsewhere who staff shelters, provide mass care, and assess and repair the infrastructure.  All these helpers are working in the affected area in the capacity of “carers”.

Survivors as well as carers are at risk of suffering from traumatic effects of disaster.  Alexander [1] has emphasized an important point, namely, that there is no single traumatic event, which is guaranteed to cause psychopathology in all those exposed to it; resilience rather than psychopathology is the norm.  On the other hand, we need to be aware of the risk that, however experienced and/or well trained are relief workers and other carers, some individuals might be adversely affected by their work

A critical incident is defined by Mitchell and Everly (1995) as “Any event which has a stressful impact sufficient to overwhelm the usually effective coping skills of either an individual or a group”.  Usually such events are powerful, sudden and out of the range of ordinary human experience.  In health-care domain, however, one group most likely to be confronted regularly by such incidents are ambulance personnel who provide an accident and emergency service, and staff of trauma units [2].

Professional stress and dissatisfaction is a growing problem, and it is only a step from disengagement from the emotional element of the doctor-patient relationships, another way of describing burnout, the most sad and preventable consequence of failing to provide care for the carers [5].