Background: The need for empathy and the difficulties of coping with mortality when caring for the dying and the bereaved can cause psychological, emotional, and spiritual strain.
Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of art-therapy-based supervision in reducing burnout and death anxiety among end-of-life care workers in Hong Kong.
Methods: Through a quasi-experimental design, 69 participants enrolled in a 6-week, 18-hour art-therapy-based supervision group, and another 63 enrolled in a 3-day, 18-hour standard skills-based supervision group (n=132). Pre- and post-intervention assessments were carried out with three outcome measures: the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the Death Attitude Profile-Revised. The data was analysed using paired sample t-tests.
Results: Significant reductions in exhaustion and death anxiety and significant increases in emotional awareness were observed for participants in the art-therapy-based supervision group.
Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence that art-therapy-based supervision for end-of-life care workers can reduce burnout by enhancing emotional awareness and regulation, fostering meaning-making, and promoting reflection on death.