Journal of Qualitative Research in Health Sciences

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

2 Faculty Member of Educational Sciences Department, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

10.34172/jqr.1342

Abstract

Introduction: Teachers of children with autism encounter numerous physical and mental challenges, yet many choose to approach their work with compassion. This compassionate approach, while essential, presents significant difficulties. This study aimed to explore the outcomes of compassion on teachers of children with autism.
Methods: This study was conducted using conventional content analysis on 18 teachers working with children with autism in centers affiliated with welfare and education organizations in Kerman, Iran. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with participants who were selected via purposive sampling until saturation was achieved. The collected data were analyzed using the conventional content analysis method proposed by Graneheim and Lundman with MaxQDA software (version 10).
Results: Data analysis led to the identification of two central themes including desperation in an influx of challenges and personal growth amidst adversity. The first central theme was further divided into five main themes including negative mental reflections, a sense of living within physical limitations, negative job consequences, self-depreciation, and inadequate adaptation. The second central theme was categorized into two main themes including enhanced capabilities and spiritual development.
Conclusion: The educational journey, marked by ups and downs, has left many teachers feeling helpless and experiencing compassion fatigue. The results of this study highlighted the complex consequences of teaching children with autism, suggesting that education managers should improve the quality of teaching as well as the psychological well-being of teachers by providing them with targeted training and support initiatives.

Keywords

  1. Mangelsdorf J, Eid M, Luhmann M. Does growth require suffering? A systematic review and meta-analysis on genuine posttraumatic and postecstatic growth. Psychol Bull 2019;145(3):302-38. doi:10.1037/bul0000173
  2. Craig C, Hiskey S, Spector A. Compassion focused therapy: a systematic review of its effectiveness and acceptability in clinical populations. Expert Rev Neurother 2020;20(4):385- 400. doi:10.1080/14737175.2020.1746184
  3. Quaglia JT, Soisson A, Simmer-Brown J. Compassion for self versus other: a critical review of compassion training research. J Posit Psychol 2021;16(5):675-90. doi:10.1080/17439760.20 20.1805502
  4. Kryshtanovych M, Petrovskyi P, Khomyshyn I, Bezena I, Serdechna I. Peculiarities of implementing governance in the system of social security. Bus Manag Econ Eng 2020;18(1):142- 56. doi:10.3846/bme.2020.12177
  5. Cross LA. Compassion fatigue in palliative care nursing: a concept analysis. J Hosp Palliat Nurs 2019;21(1):21-8. doi:10.1097/njh.0000000000000477
  6. Menezes P, Guraya SY, Guraya SS. A systematic review of educational interventions and their impact on empathy and compassion of undergraduate medical students. Front Med (Lausanne) 2021;8:758377. doi:10.3389/fmed.2021.758377
  7. Nematollahi M, Bagherian B, Mehdipour-Rabori R, Farokhzadian J, Khoshnood Z, Navidi Z. Implementing the internship educational method, a step to reduce the gap between theory and practice, experience of undergraduate nursing students: a qualitative content analysis study. J Qual Res Health Sci 2022;11(4):253-9. doi:10.34172/jqr.2022.14
  8. Hume K, Steinbrenner JR, Odom SL, Morin KL, Nowell SW, Tomaszewski B, et al. Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with autism: third generation review. J Autism Dev Disord 2021;51(11):4013-32. doi:10.1007/ s10803-020-04844-2
  9. Abazari K, Ghamarani A, Abedi A, Faramarzi S. Understanding the factors influence expressed emotion in mothers of children autistic with autism (mixed-method research). J Qual Res Health Sci 2020;6(1):22-34.
  10. Zeidan J, Fombonne E, Scorah J, Ibrahim A, Durkin MS, Saxena S, et al. Global prevalence of autism: a systematic review update. Autism Res 2022;15(5):778-90. doi:10.1002/ aur.2696
  11. Papadopoulos D. Mothers’ experiences and challenges raising a child with autism spectrum disorder: a qualitative study. Brain Sci 2021;11(3):309. doi:10.3390/brainsci11030309
  12. Ivanović I. Psychiatric comorbidities in children with ASD: autism centre experience. Front Psychiatry 2021;12:673169. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.673169
  13. Amin S. The psychology of coronavirus fear: are healthcare professionals suffering from corona-phobia? Int J Healthc Manag 2020;13(3):249-56. doi:10.1080/20479700.2020.17 65119
  14. Ortega-Campos E, Vargas-Román K, Velando-Soriano A, Suleiman-Martos N, Cañadas-de la Fuente GA, Albendín- García L, et al. Compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and burnout in oncology nurses: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sustainability 2019;12(1):72. doi:10.3390/ su12010072
  15. Robertson S, Olanloye EE, Hon Y, England A, McNair H, Cruickshank S. Are radiographers suffering from symptoms of compassion fatigue due to occupational stress: a systematic review. Radiography (Lond) 2022;28(3):857-64. doi:10.1016/j.radi.2022.04.001
  16. Xie W, Chen L, Feng F, Okoli CTC, Tang P, Zeng L, et al. The prevalence of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue among nurses: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Nurs Stud 2021;120:103973. doi:10.1016/j. ijnurstu.2021.103973
  17. Jin M, Wang J, Zeng L, Xie W, Tang P, Yuan Z. Prevalence and factors of compassion fatigue among nurse in China: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore) 2021;100(3):e24289. doi:10.1097/md.0000000000024289
  18. Al Barmawi MA, Subih M, Salameh O, Yousef Sayyah NS, Shoqirat N, Abdel-Azeez Eid Abu Jebbeh R. Coping strategies as moderating factors to compassion fatigue among critical care nurses. Brain Behav 2019;9(4):e01264. doi:10.1002/ brb3.1264
  19. Ahmadi B, Sabery M, Adib-Hajbaghery M. Burnout in the primary caregivers of children with chronic conditions and its related factors. J Client Centered Nurs Care 2021;7(2):139-48. doi:10.32598/jccnc.7.2.360.1
  20. Sinclair S, Kondejewski J, Jaggi P, Dennett L, Roze des Ordons AL, Hack TF. What is the state of compassion education? A systematic review of compassion training in health care. Acad Med 2021;96(7):1057-70. doi:10.1097/ acm.0000000000004114
  21. Mahon Á. Towards a higher education: contemplation, compassion, and the ethics of slowing down. In: The University as an Ethical Academy? Routledge; 2022. p. 30-40.
  22. Barton G, Garvis S. Compassion and Empathy in Educational Contexts. London, UK: Springer; 2019.
  23. Ziaian-Ghafari N, Berg DH. Compassion fatigue: the experiences of teachers working with students with exceptionalities. Except Educ Int 2019;29(1):32-53.
  24. Ormiston HE, Nygaard MA, Apgar S. A systematic review of secondary traumatic stress and compassion fatigue in teachers. School Ment Health 2022;14(4):802-17. doi:10.1007/s12310- 022-09525-2
  25. Levkovich I, Ricon T. Understanding compassion fatigue, optimism and emotional distress among Israeli school counsellors. Asia Pac J Couns Psychother 2020;11(2):159-80. doi:10.1080/21507686.2020.1799829
  26. Lynch SH. Looking at compassion fatigue differently: application to family caregivers. Am J Health Educ 2018;49(1):9-11. doi:10.1080/19325037.2017.1369197
  27. Naghavi A, Zamani-Forooshani F. Fatigue and satisfaction due to compassion: the experiences of mother caregivers of a child with disability. J Appl Sociol 2019;30(4):21-34. doi:10.22108/ jas.2019.114021.1557
  28. Lindgren BM, Lundman B, Graneheim UH. Abstraction and interpretation during the qualitative content analysis process. Int J Nurs Stud 2020;108:103632. doi:10.1016/j. ijnurstu.2020.103632
  29. Speziale HS, Streubert HJ, Carpenter DR. Qualitative Research in Nursing: Advancing the Humanistic Imperative. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2011.
  30. Emery DW, Vandenberg B. Special education teacher burnout and ACT. Int J Spec Educ 2010;25(3):119-31.
  31. Huk O, Terjesen MD, Cherkasova L. Predicting teacher burnout as a function of school characteristics and irrational beliefs. Psychol Sch 2019;56(5):792-808. doi:10.1002/ pits.22233
  32. Taresh S, Ahmad NA, Roslan S, Ma’rof AM, Zaid S. Pre-school teachers’ knowledge, belief, identification skills, and self-efficacy in identifying autism spectrum disorder (ASD): a conceptual framework to identify children with ASD. Brain Sci 2020;10(3):165. doi:10.3390/brainsci10030165
  33. Indriasari FN. Resilience and parenting stress in mothers who have children with mental retardation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jurnal Keperawatan Soedirman 2022;17(2):63-8.
  34. Figley CR. Compassion fatigue: psychotherapists’ chronic lack of self-care. J Clin Psychol 2002;58(11):1433-41. doi:10.1002/ jclp.10090
  35. Jo M, Na H, Jung YE. Mediation effects of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in the relationships between resilience and anxiety or depression among hospice volunteers. J Hosp Palliat Nurs 2020;22(3):246-53. doi:10.1097/njh.0000000000000640
  36. Pazim KH, Mahmud R, Fabeil NF, Langgat J, bin Nordin MN. Special education teachers job satisfaction in Malaysia: a review. Turk J Comput Math Educ 2021;12(11):5329-32.
  37. Kasalak G, Dagyar M. The relationship between teacher self-efficacy and teacher job satisfaction: a meta-analysis of the teaching and learning international survey (TALIS). Educ Sci Theory Pract 2020;20(3):16-33.
  38. Lessner Listiakova I, Preece D. In-service education and training for teachers regarding autism spectrum disorder: a review of the literature. Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis: Studia Psychologica. 2020;12:177-99.
  39. Fute A, Sun B, Oubibi M. Assessing teaching compassion, work engagement and compassion fatigue among teachers during the pandemic. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2022;15:2561-71. doi:10.2147/prbm.S383292
  40. Payne J. Compassion Fatigue Among Teachers of Emotional and Behavioral Disability Students: A Basic Qualitative Study [dissertation]. Capella University; 2021.
  41. Bjorklund DF, Ellis BJ, Geary DC. Developing evolutionary psychology: commentary on Narvaez et al. (2022). Am Psychol 2022;77(6):781-3. doi:10.1037/amp0001004
  42. Wood R, Happé F. What are the views and experiences of autistic teachers? Findings from an online survey in the UK. Disabil Soc2023;38(1):47-72. doi:10.1080/09687599.2021.1 916888
  43. Oliver-Kerrigan KA, Christy D, Stahmer AC. Practices and experiences of general education teachers educating students with autism. Educ Train Autism Dev Disabil 2021;56(2):158- 72. doi:10.1177/215416472105600204
  44. Ozcetin YU, Hicdurmaz D. Relations of post-traumatic growth and resilience in cancer experience. Eur Psychiatry 2017;41(S1):S672. doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.1152
  45. Schueller SM. Personality fit and positive interventions: extraverted and introverted individuals benefit from different happiness increasing strategies. Psychology 2012;3(12):1166- 73. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/psych.2012.312A172