Professional quality of life among health care workers in medical camps during Arbaeen mass gathering 2024 in Karbala

Professional quality of life is defined as an emotional assessment that individuals derive from their work, comprising two dimensions: compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue. Both burnout and secondary traumatic stress are components of compassion fatigue. This study aims to estimate the levels of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress among healthcare workers in medical camps during the Arbaeen pilgrimage 2024 in Karbala, Iraq, and their associated factors. A cross-sectional study. A sample of 305 healthcare workers from medical camps of the Disaster Health Management center affiliated with the Authority of Health and Medical Education of the Imam Hussain alaihissalam Holy Shrine, Karbala, Iraq, during the Arbaeen pilgrimage in 2024. Data collection was conducted from August 31,2024 to September 14, 2024, using a self-administered online questionnaire based on the Arabic translation of the Professional Quality of Life Scale (Version 5). The Professional Quality of Life Scale consisted of 30 items, each with a 5-point rating scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). The mean compassion satisfaction score was 43.29 ± 6.74, the mean burnout score was 19.95 ± 5.68, and the mean secondary traumatic stress score was 22.58 ± 6.48. Compassion satisfaction had a significant negative correlation with burnout rather than compassion satisfaction and secondary traumatic stress. Job type, participation, and future intention to participate in this work were significantly associated with at least two components of Professional quality of life. High compassion satisfaction, low burnout and low secondary traumatic stress levels among health care workers during a special work assignment in Arbaeen pilgrimage.