Labor and Delivery Clinician Perspectives on Impact of Traumatic Clinical Experiences and Need for Systemic Supports.

Objectives: Few studies have elucidated the impact of work-related trauma on labor and delivery clinician or considered whether it may be a cause of burnout. This study aims to elicit labor and delivery clinician perspectives on the impact of exposure to traumatic births on their professional quality of life. Methods: Labor and delivery clinicians (physicians, midwives, nurse practitioners, and nurses; n = 165) were recruited to complete an online questionnaire on experiences with traumatic births. The questionnaire contained measures from the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the professional quality of life scale version 5. Some participants completed an optional free-text prompt to recommend ways to support clinicians after traumatic births (n = 115). Others opted into a semi-structured phone interview (n = 8). Qualitative data was analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. Results: Self-reported adequate institutional support for clinicians after a traumatic birth was positively correlated with compassion satisfaction (r = 0.21, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with secondary traumatic stress (r = − 0.27, p < 0.01), and burnout (r = − 0.26, p < 0.01). Qualitative themes included lack of system-wide and leadership support, lack of access to mental health resources, and suboptimal workplace culture as contributors toward secondary traumatic stress and burnout. Participants recommended proactive leadership, consistent debriefing protocols, trauma education, and improved access to counseling. Conclusions for Practice: Multi-level barriers prevented labor and delivery clinicians from accessing needed mental health support after exposure to traumatic births. Proactive investment in healthcare system supports for clinicians may improve clinician professional quality of life. Significance: What is already known on this subject? Studies on traumatic birth experiences rarely consider the impact on the providers caring for those patients. Few studies have elucidated the impact of work-related trauma on labor and delivery clinicians or considered whether it may contribute to burnout. What this study adds? This study found that involvement in traumatic birth experiences can affect labor and delivery clinician's professional quality of life, their interactions with patients, and desire to stay in the field. However, there is little acknowledgement or supports to mitigate these impacts in the workplace. Proactively investing in health care system supports for clinicians may mitigate clinician burnout and secondary traumatic stress and improve compassion satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]