Human-animal bonds: first cross-sectional study in laboratory animal care professionals in Argentina

TL;DR

This study explores the emotional bonds between laboratory animal caretakers and animals in Argentina, focusing on compassion fatigue and satisfaction.

Contribution

The paper presents the first cross-sectional study on compassion fatigue in laboratory animal care professionals in Argentina.

Findings

Compassion fatigue was linked to less control over euthanasia and frequent use of enrichment tools.

Compassion satisfaction was associated with pride in communicating job roles and desire for more enrichment.

Findings suggest a need for policies to improve the well-being of both caretakers and animals.

Abstract

Working with laboratory animals can bring satisfaction but may also result in workplace stress. The established bonds between laboratory animals and their caretakers can make a person feel physically, mentally or emotionally uncomfortable. This phenomenon has been described as Compassion Fatigue (CF), a combination of burnout (BO) and secondary traumatic stress (STS). Although CF has been recognized in the field of laboratory animal science, the information about laboratory animal workers is still scarce. Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of CF and Compassion satisfaction (CS) and identify risk factors in laboratory animal care professionals (LACP) in Argentina. We conducted our study during 2.024. A total of 106 LACP completed an online survey regarding social support, euthanasia, environmental enrichment, stress and pain caused to animals, professional quality of life and human-animal interactions. Components of CF were associated with less control over euthanasia procedures and the frequency of conducting the procedure, the use of toys as enrichment tools, and talking to animals and introducing themselves to society as LACP. CS was associated with the desire to add more enrichment and pride in communicating their jobs to others. These results provide empirical information that can contribute to the development of intervention policies to improve the quality of life of both the people who work with laboratory animals and the animals they care for.

Figures