Scale-Description

The ProQOL-30 consists of 30 items that assess professional quality of life across three main dimensions:

Compassion Satisfaction: Refers to the satisfaction one derives from helping others through their work. It includes the feeling that the work is beneficial and that it positively contributes to others.

Compassion Fatigue: Includes the stress and fatigue experienced by professionals when they are constantly exposed to the suffering and pain of others. This can lead to emotional exhaustion.

Secondary Traumatic Stress: Refers to the stress that results from exposure to the traumatic experiences of patients or clients. Professionals may experience symptoms similar to those of post-traumatic stress disorder due to their exposure to traumatic situations.

Participants respond using a Likert-type scale, evaluating the extent to which the statements represent their experience.

Data Analysis and Usage

Data collected from the ProQOL-30 are used to assess the professional quality of life of healthcare and caregiving professionals. The scale’s results can help understand the levels of satisfaction, fatigue, and stress that professionals experience, facilitating the implementation of measures to improve their work life.

Key analytical techniques include:

Reliability analysis to calculate the internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha) of the three subscales.

Factor analysis to confirm the structure of the three main dimensions of the scale.

Statistical analysis to explore the correlations between the three dimensions and other variables, such as professional burnout or job satisfaction.

Purpose

The main goal of the ProQOL-30 is to measure the quality of life of professionals working in healthcare and caregiving environments. The scale helps:

Identify the levels of satisfaction and fatigue experienced by professionals due to their exposure to individuals in need of care.

Diagnose the likelihood of professional burnout or secondary traumatic stress.

Develop and implement support programs for managing stress and fatigue.

Calibration

The calibration of the ProQOL-30 includes:

Reliability analysis to assess the internal consistency of responses within each of the three subscales.

Factor analysis to validate the three dimensions (compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress).

Validation across different populations and professional fields to ensure the scale’s generalizability and applicability in various work environments.

Bibliography

Stamm, B. H. (2010). The Concise ProQOL Manual. ProQOL.org.

Figley, C. R. (1995). Compassion Fatigue: Coping with Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder in Those Who Treat the Traumatized. Brunner/Mazel.

Stamm, B. H. (2002). Measuring compassion satisfaction as well as fatigue: Developmental history of the Compassion Fatigue and Satisfaction Test. In C. R. Figley (Ed.), Treating compassion fatigue (pp. 107-119). Brunner-Routledge.