Incivility Is Associated with Burnout and Reduced Compassion Satisfaction: A Mixed-Method Study to Identify Causes of Burnout among Oncology Clinical Research Coordinators

While oncology clinical research coordinators (CRCs) experience a combination of factors that are thought to put them at increased risk for burnout, very little research has been conducted to understand the risk factors associated with burnout among CRCs. We used a mixed-method approach, including self-report questionnaires to assess burnout and compassion satisfaction, as well as individual and interpersonal variables hypothesized to impact CRC well-being. We also conducted a focus group to gain a more nuanced understanding of coordinators’ experiences around burnout, teamwork, resilience, and incivility. Coordinators reported relatively moderate levels of burnout and compassion satisfaction. Resilience, sleep dysfunction, stress, and incivility experienced from patients/family were significant predictors of burnout. Resilience and incivility from patients/family were significant predictors of compassion satisfaction. Themes that emerged from the focus group included that burnout is triggered by feeling overwhelmed from the workload, which is buffered by what was described as a supportive work culture based in teamwork. This study identified variables at the individual and interpersonal level that are associated with burnout and compassion satisfaction among oncology CRCs. Addressing these variables is of critical importance given that oncology CRCs and team-based coordinator care are vital to the success of clinical trials.