Palliative care (PC) professionals confront the suffering and mortality of their patients, adding to the conventional stressors related to work dynamics or personal life. However, the specific stressors inherent in end-of-life (EOL) care and their relation with the mental health of these professionals, remain inadequately explored. This study seeks to examine the respective roles of various stressors encountered by PC professionals and their associations with mental health. Additionally, it aims to elucidate the relationships between specific psychosocial factors (psychological resources or work environment perceptions) and mental health within the context of stress associated with PC.

An online questionnaire was developed and distributed to PC professionals in France (e.g., doctors, nurses, care assistants, psychologists). The questionnaire contained measures of stress experienced in the last 6 months (personal, professional, or EOL); measures of mental health; and measures of psychosocial factors (perceptions of work environment and psychological resources).

Three hundred and seventy-nine participants completed the entire questionnaire in November 2022. Among the various stress factors assessed, the accumulation of EOL care emerged as a robustly linked stressor to poorer mental health. In this specific context of EOL care stress, self-compassion and psychological flexibility are significantly related to well-being and mental health, even when other psychosocial factors related to the work environment are statistically controlled.

This study is the first to highlight the main stressor affecting the well-being of PC professionals – the accumulation of EOL care – along with the key resources – psychological flexibility and self-compassion – that are associated with their well-being.