PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Knutt, Amanda AU - Boyd, Linda D. AU - Adams, Jaymi-Lyn AU - Vineyard, Jared TI - Compassion Satisfaction, Compassion Fatigue, and Burnout among Dental Hygienists in the United States DP - 2022 Feb 01 TA - American Dental Hygienists' Association PG - 34--42 VI - 96 IP - 1 4099 - http://jdh.adha.org/content/96/1/34.short 4100 - http://jdh.adha.org/content/96/1/34.full SO - J Dent Hyg2022 Feb 01; 96 AB - Purpose: Compassion satisfaction allows for dental hygienists (DH) to grow professionally, but compassion fatigue can lead to burnout. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between compassion satisfaction (CS), compassion fatigue (CF), burnout (BO), to demographics and work characteristics, including thoughts of leaving the profession, among clinical DHs in the United States.Methods: A cross-sectional survey research design was used with a non-probability sampling of clinical DHs (n=553) recruited via social media. Data collection consisted of demographics, work characteristics and the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQoL) (version 5). Descriptive, correlation, and logistic regression analyses were used to assess the relationships among variables. Thematic analysis was conducted for the open-ended question.Results: The survey completion rate was 99% (n=527). The mean number of hours worked and number of days per week was 30.6 and 3.8 respectively and, on average, participants had worked 19.3 years in clinical practice. Approximately 70% of respondents indicated thinking about leaving the profession in the next five years. Participants with thoughts about leaving the field had a lower CS score (p<0.001), higher BO score (p<0.001), and higher CF (p<0.001) compared to those who had not thought about leaving the field. Age and years of experience positively correlated to CS and day per week worked negatively correlated to CF (p<0.05).Conclusion: Compassion satisfaction appears to impact burnout and thoughts of leaving the dental hygiene profession. Findings suggest the need for further research to identify ways to prevent burnout and improve retention in the profession.