Professional Quality of Life Scale for Health Workers (ProQOL Health)
Measures compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress for healthcare professionals based on the ProQ
Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) (2021). Professional Quality of Life: Health Worker, Version 1.
Provided by
EVAL FoundationInstructions
As a health worker working in difficult humanitarian or pandemic situations, you have direct contact with the lives of your patients and beneficiaries. As you may have found, your compassion for those you help can affect you in positive and negative ways.
- Below are some statements about your experiences as a health worker, both positive and negative.
- Consider each statement about your current work situation.
- Select the choice that most accurately reflects how frequently you have experienced these things in the last 30 days.
The ProQOL-Health is still under development. We are still collecting data so that you can compare your scores to those of other health workers doing similar work.
- The result indicators of low, medium and high should be used only as a rough guide.
- Many health workers find it useful to complete the ProQOL-Health on a regular basis and compare current and past scores. In other words, you can use your past scores as a comparison for how you are doing today.
- Others find it useful to discuss their scores with trusted colleagues, friends, supervisor, or mental health provider.
Healthcare workers working in difficult humanitarian contexts have direct contact with the lives of their patients and beneficiaries. They frequently work long hours in under-resourced and high-pressure settings and are confronted by suffering and grief daily while working with their beneficiaries. In addition, these beneficiaries’ experiences, especially in the refugee context, add another dimension of possible stress. Healthcare workers may find that their wellbeing is impacted by the stressors and exposure to trauma arising in the context of their work, resulting in increased vulnerability to burnout, compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress.
Purpose and Use
The Professional Quality of Life Scale for Health Workers (ProQOL Health) is a 30-item self-report measure designed to assess the positive and negative effects of working with individuals who have experienced trauma and suffering. It is intended for health workers and other helping professionals. The ProQOL Health helps individuals and organizations identify and address the emotional impact of caregiving work, promoting well-being and preventing negative outcomes.
Scores on a measure such as the ProQOL-HEALTH should be treated as one piece of information about your quality of life. It is useful to compare the results of the ProQOL-HEALTH with you own experience of your personal and working life, as well as observations that others close to you have made about your health and happiness. Many health workers find it useful to complete the ProQOL-Health on a regular basis and compare current and past scores. In other words, you can use your past scores as a comparison for how you are doing today. Others find it useful to discuss their scores with trusted colleagues, friends and supervisors. The ProQOL-Health is still under development. We are still collecting data so that you can compare your scores to those of other health workers doing similar work. The indicators or low, medium and high levels should be used only as a rough guide.
The scale evaluates five key domains of professional quality of life:
- Compassion Satisfaction (CS): This refers to the pleasure and satisfaction a helper derives from their work, including feeling effective and that their work makes a difference. High scores suggest a greater sense of fulfillment from helping others.
- Perceived Support (PS): Perceived support is your sense of having access to effective assistance when you need it.
- Burnout (BO): This component is associated with feelings of exhaustion, frustration, anger, and depression. It is characterized by feelings of hopelessness and difficulty in dealing with work or performing tasks effectively. High scores indicate a significant risk of burnout.
- Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS): This relates to the stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a traumatized or suffering person. It involves work-related, secondary exposure to extremely or traumatically stressful events, and its symptoms can mimic those of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). High scores indicate significant secondary traumatic stress.
- Moral Distress (MD): Health workers are sometimes faced with difficult situations and choices. At times we are forced by circumstance, or instructed, to act in ways that conflict with our personal values, beliefs and morality.
Scoring and Interpretation
The scale consists of 30 questions rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1=Never, 5=Very Often) based on experiences in the last 30 days. Each subscale is composed of 10 items. The scores for each subscale are calculated by summing the responses for the corresponding items. For a copy of the questions and scoring methodology, go to ProQOL Health - Ver 1_branded.pdf which can also be found at ProQOL Health | ProQOL.
- Compassion Satisfaction Items: 1, 6, 21, 24, 27, 30
- Perceived Support items: 5, 11, 13, 18, 23, 25
- Burnout items: 8, 15, 19, 20, 22, 29
- Secondary Traumatic Stress Items: 3, 7, 10, 12, 16, 26
- Moral Distress items: 2, 4, 9, 14, 17, 28
After summing the items for each scale, the raw score is interpreted as follows:
| Raw Score | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| 12 or less | Low |
| Between 13 and 23 | Average |
| 24 or more | High |
- A high score in Compassion Satisfaction and Perceived Support is desirable.
- High scores in Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress indicate potential areas of concern that may require intervention or support.
Source
This tool is adapted from the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), developed by Dr. B. Hudnall Stamm. For more information, visit www.proqol.org.
All questions & possible results
Professional Quality of Life Scale for Health Workers (ProQOL Health)Title not visible
1. I am happy that I choose to work in healthcare.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
2. At times I have had to do things that go against my personal values.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
3. Because of my work, I have unwanted, distressing thoughts.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
4. I have seen things at work that I believe to be morally wrong.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
5. I feel supported by my colleagues.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
6. I feel energized by working with my patients.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
7. I often find myself thinking about my patients when I am with my family.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
8. Administrative procedures and rules make my job too hard.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
9. At times, I have been unable to provide the care that I believe should have been provided.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
10. I think that I have been affected by the suffering I see at work.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
11. My family supports me in my work in healthcare.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
12. Because of my work, I feel anxious about many things.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
13. The people who make the decisions that affect my job care about my wellbeing.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
14. At times, I have felt ashamed of the choices I have made at work.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
15. I am unhappy at work.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
16. I feel depressed because of the suffering I see at work.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
17. I am unhappy because I have observed health workers doing things that I believe are unethical.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
18. My manager cares about my personal wellbeing.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
19. My workload seems endless.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
20. My workplace is an extremely harsh place to work.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
21. I feel satisfied by my work in healthcare.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
22. Because of my work, I have very little time for a personal life.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
23. I have people who I can talk to about my struggles at work.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
24. I believe I can make a difference through my work in healthcare.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
25. I have close friends who support me in my work.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
26. I avoid activities or situations that remind me of patients' suffering.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
27. I am proud of what I can do to help.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
28. I feel responsible that I have not always been able to help people.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
29. My work exhausts me.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
30. I feel that my work in healthcare makes the world a better place.
Select one option:
- Never
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Very Often
Possible results
[Vulnerabilities] Burnout: Higher scores suggest a higher level of burnout.
Burnout refers to feelings of hopelessness and exhaustion that make it difficult to be effective at work. These feelings typically start slowly and get worse over time.
- People struggling with burnout often have very high workloads, have few opportunities for rest, or are working in unsupportive environments. They often feel unappreciated or that their efforts make no difference.
- Higher scores suggest a higher level of burnout.
Low Score: 12 or less
Moderate Score: 13 to 23
High Score: 24 or more
If you have concerns about your emotional health, please talk to a trusted colleague, supervisor, friend or family member, or with a mental health professional.
For more information on burnout, go to:
[Strengths] Compassion Satisfaction: Higher scores suggest greater satisfaction
Compassion satisfaction is the pleasure you derive from the feeling of being effective in your work as a health worker.
- For example, you may feel like it is a pleasure to help others through your work. You may feel positively about your colleagues or your ability to contribute to the work setting or the greater good of society.
- Higher scores suggest greater satisfaction from your ability to be an effective health worker.
Low Score: 12 or less
Moderate Score: 13 to 23
High Score: 24 or more
If you have concerns about your emotional health, please talk to a trusted colleague, supervisor, friend or family member, or with a mental health professional.
For more information on Compassion Fatigue, go to:
[Vulnerabilities] Moral Distress: Higher scores suggest higher levels of moral distress.
Health workers are sometimes faced with difficult situations and choices. At times we are forced by circumstance, or instructed, to act in ways that conflict with our personal values, beliefs and morality.
- It is these parts of our work that may result in lasting inner turmoil that can negatively affect our quality of life.
- Moral distress of this kind is associated with feelings of guilt, shame and resentment.
- Higher scores suggest higher levels of moral distress.
Low Score: 12 or less
Moderate Score: 13 to 23
High Score: 24 or more
If you have concerns about your emotional health, please talk to a trusted colleague, supervisor, friend or family member, or with a mental health professional.
For more information, go to:
[Strengths] Perceived Support: Higher scores suggest feeling well supported
Perceived support is your sense of having access to effective assistance when you need it.
- Support can take many forms including carrying out tasks for us when our own capacity is overwhelmed, offering useful advice, working with us to solve difficult problems, distracting us from the stressors in our work, or offering emotional support and empathy for our struggles.
- Higher scores suggest feeling well supported by others, an important component of overall quality of life.
Low Score: 12 or less
Moderate Score: 13 to 23
High Score: 24 or more
If you have concerns about your emotional health, please talk to a trusted colleague, supervisor, friend or family member, or with a mental health professional.
For more information, go to:
[Vulnerabilties] Secondary Traumatic Stress: High scores suggest a higher level of secondary traumatic stress.
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) is about your work-related, secondary exposure to traumatically stressful events such as witnessing terrible suffering, violence or death. STS often starts suddenly following particularly difficult experiences.
- People struggling with STS often struggle with upsetting and uncontrollable memories, constantly thinking about bad experiences, avoiding activities that remind them of bad experiences, being afraid for no reason, and having difficulty sleeping.
- High scores suggest a higher level of secondary traumatic stress.
Low Score: 12 or less
Moderate Score: 13 to 23
High Score: 24 or more
If you have concerns about your emotional health, please talk to a trusted colleague, supervisor, friend or family member, or with a mental health professional.
For more information on Secondary Traumatic Stress, go to:
Citation
Literature
- Professional Quality of Life: Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue Version 5 (ProQOL) — Beth Hudnall Stamm (2009)
- Provided by
- Primary Contributor Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) (2021). Professional Quality of Life: Health Worker, Version 1.
- Reviewed by
Jennifer Glen, DNP, FNP-BC Reviewed October 21, 2025