Introduction: Occupational stress is prevalent in dentistry, affecting the professional quality of life and possibly reducing the quality of health care services. This study was conducted to determine the professional quality of life of dentists in Jiroft, located in South-East of Iran. Materials and methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on all dentists of Jiroft in 2019. Demographic data and Stamm’s Professional Quality of Life Questionnaire were used to collect information. The questionnaire has been translated and validated into Persian. Dimensions of quality of life, including compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue (burnout and secondary trauma stress), were examined using this questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS 21 and t-test, ANOVA, chi-square, correlation, Tukey post hoc test, and regression was evaluated at the significant level of <=0.05. Results and discussion: The mean scores of dentists in Jiroft for satisfaction, compared to compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary trauma stress were 39.98± 4.64 (out of 50), 10.86 ±4.26 (out of 25) and 23.97±5.91 (out of 50), respectively, most of the dentists recording an average level in all dimensions. There was no relationship between the studied factors and the professional quality of life dimensions, but only a significant relationship between dentists’ self-assessment of their economic status compared to compassion satisfaction and secondary stress.Conclusions: The findings of this study showed that most dentists had an average level in all aspects of professional quality of life, including compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue (burnout and secondary trauma stress). Further studies on dentists and dental students can be effective in identifying the related factors and in planning to improve the professional quality of life.
Keywords:- burnout
- compassion fatigue
- compassion satisfaction
- dentists
- professional quality of life
- secondary traumatic stress