The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of healthcare workers and their professional quality of life. This quantitative cross-sectional study aims at exploring the professional quality of life, work engagement, and self-care of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador. A convenience sample of 117 participants completed an online voluntary and anonymous survey between April and July 2020. It contained a sociodemographic section, the Professional Quality of Life questionnaire V, the work engagement scale, and the scale of self-care behaviors for clinical psychologists. Results show that healthcare workers have an average quality of life with high levels of compassion satisfaction and average levels of compassion fatigue and burnout. Data also indicate that the sample frequently engaged in self-care practices and had high levels of work engagement. The regression analyses reveal that gender, the number of patients per week, the perceived fairness of the salary, among other variables are possible predictors of professional quality of life, frequency of self-care practices, and engagement. This study contributes to the understanding of these variables among healthcare professionals in Ecuador. These results should be considered when planning policies and prevention intervention efforts to promote professionals’ wellbeing.

Empathy plays a fundamental role in health related occupations. In this study, we analysed empathy levels in professionals (117) and students (170) from various healthcare fields in Ecuador during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index was used in an online survey. The results show high levels of empathy in both groups, influenced by age and gender. The students presented higher levels of personal distress, and their age was negatively correlated to empathy. Additionally, professionals working in physical health scored higher levels of personal distress compared to those in the field of emotional health. COVID-19 has placed social health systems in great stress. Despite this, the personal capacities for empathy of both students and health professionals have not been diminished.

They are participating as a volunteer implies active personal positioning accompanying others. Evidence supports that experiences of those who experience an illness, who are hospitalised or feel lonely, impact the volunteers: positive emotions like engagement and Compassion Satisfaction (CS) or, the reverse, Compassion Fatigue (CF). Motivations help us understand why volunteers spend their time on these activities. And self‐care practices will be a challenge to counteract the exhausting emotions of volunteering. This research presents a mixed, exploratory and sequential design study on the island of Majorca (Spain). The first phase (n = 216) was quantitative, gathering data from November 2018 to April 2019. Then, the second phase (two focus groups) started with qualitative data collection (July 2019). Firstly, the study determines CS and work engagement levels and examines the relationship between self‐care, CF and motivations. Secondly, the study finds out how they recognise their positive and negative emotions, their relationship with self‐care and what motivates them to be volunteers. The results show that the volunteers report highly positive feelings associated with their volunteering (CS and engagement) and are backed up by a good level of personal Self‐Care. The Understanding and Enhancement motivational functions generate even more positive feelings for the volunteers themselves, who attach a positive value to their experience of caring for others. Despite the positive results collected, we must not ignore the phenomenon of CF in relational volunteering and pain support because it occurs. After all, that could lead to abandonment by volunteers.

Approach: When people or groups in conflict initiate a mediation process to try to reach an agreement, painful and distressing feelings emerge. Mediation professionals facilitate and promote understanding despite the suffering that arises along the way. Previous research has confirmed the impact of professional quality of life and self-care on successful task performance. This research is a pioneering study in the occupational field of mediation. Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyse the efficacy of personal and professional self-care practices in relation to the quality of professional life of Spanish mediators. Findings: Mediators presented moderately high levels of compassion satisfaction but also had moderately high levels of burnout and compassion fatigue. Self-care positively correlated with compassion satisfaction and negatively with burnout and compassion fatigue. Originality: Were found positive associations between self-care and professional quality of life. Such a finding can help create personal and professional self-care practices to improve the lives of professionals.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way of delivering social services in primary care settings all over the world. In March 2020 the lockdowns in every European country forced the population to adjust their lives to the new scenario. Welfare states had to quickly respond to the urgent social and economic needs of the citizens. Therefore, social workers were compelled to modify their standard procedures to overcome the difficulties they faced during the first months after lockdown orders were issued due to COVID-19. The present research analyzes the interviews conducted with twelve Spanish social workers to find out their perceptions and concerns about the consequences of that period. Results showed great changes in the way of delivering social services (simplifying procedures and managing an increasing workload), but also demonstrated different strategies that these professionals implemented to prevent burnout or compassion fatigue (team spirit, efforts to develop interinstitutional coordination, support to civil society in non-profit initiatives). Implications in organizational aspects are discussed.

Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) may be defined as the set of interventions for children from 0 to 6 years of age with disabilities or developmental disorders, their families, and the environment. Understanding the family as an active agent during the intervention, the aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between Family Quality of Life (FQoL) and family empowerment of parents with children with disabilities or developmental disorders who are users of ECI services. It also aimed to clarify the impact of family characteristics on FQoL and parental empowerment. The sample consisted of 322 parents or legal guardians from the Balearic Islands (Spain) users of ECI services, who responded to sociodemographic questions, the Family Quality of Life Scale for families with children with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities under 18 years of age (CdVF-ER) and Family Empowerment Scale (FES). Descriptive, differential, and correlational analyses were performed. The results obtained show medium-high levels of empowerment and FQoL, as well as differences in FQoL and family empowerment depending on family characteristics. Highlighting the scarcity of previous research, this study shows a positive and significant link between the level of family empowerment and FQoL.