Beyond professional competence: Effect of equanimity on the professional quality of life among health-care professionals working in perinatal bereavement support

Health-care professionals who offer perinatal bereavement support often encountered numerous stressful events in daily practices. Secondary trauma and burnout related to psychological distress are not uncommon. Literatures suggested that further skill training enhances perceived self-competence thus lowering such traumatic impact. Nevertheless, equanimity, an emerging concept in professional development, which is characterized by a sense of unflappability and resilience in face of challenges, is an indispensable element in protecting the well-being of health-care professionals. The current study aimed to examine the role of equanimity and perceived selfcompetence on professional quality of life among health-care professionals. A citywide survey study was conducted among 101 individuals who offered perinatal bereavement support at tertiary care institutions in Hong Kong. Perceived self-competence was positively associated with compassion satisfaction (β=.380, p<.001, CI=0. 038, 0.131) and negatively correlated to burnout (β=-.439, p<.001, CI=-0.148, -0.055), in which both relationships were moderated by the level of equanimity, that is, the impact of perceived self-competence on professional quality of life was only significant among individuals with higher level of equanimity. It implied that perinatal bereavement training should integrate not only knowledge and skills but also component of equanimity training to facilitate the capacity building among frontline health-care professionals.