The Role of Self-Compassion in the Lived Experiences of Service Providers Working in Canadian Cancer Support Programs
Working and providing cancer support services is both challenging and rewarding, yet the lived experiences of the personnel providing such services remain overlooked. It is vital to address the experiences of service providers to better understand the nature of their work and how it may impact thei...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Humber Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education |
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| Online Access: | https://jipe.ca/index.php/jipe/article/view/204 |
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| author | Karimah Kiranda Unnati Modi Danielle Silva Cristina Alexandra Guerrero Tina Lackner |
| author_facet | Karimah Kiranda Unnati Modi Danielle Silva Cristina Alexandra Guerrero Tina Lackner |
| author_sort | Karimah Kiranda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Working and providing cancer support services is both challenging and rewarding, yet the lived experiences of the personnel providing such services remain overlooked. It is vital to address the experiences of service providers to better understand the nature of their work and how it may impact their well-being. This paper explores the lived experiences of cancer support service providers, focusing on how they conceptualize and practice self-compassion in their workplace. A qualitative approach centred on phenomenological hermeneutics was utilized to collect in-depth interview data from service providers working in cancer support centres across southwestern Ontario, Canada. The research team used descriptive and narrative analysis to analyze the interview data and produced the following four themes: 1) acknowledging personal limits as a form of self-compassion; 2) organizational support; 3) emotional environment; and 4) prioritized self-care. Recommendations include more comprehensive support systems for service providers, especially if they may be experiencing secondary trauma or compassion fatigue. The findings gleaned from the service providers contribute valuable considerations for both the cancer care workplace and post-secondary institutions. While the findings provide real-life examples of effective support for service providers in the workplace, they also provide important considerations for post-secondary programming that include strategies for balancing empathetic service delivery with exercising self-compassion.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a7d1ae68775f401d91a684e6dfdba633 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2561-5904 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Humber Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-a7d1ae68775f401d91a684e6dfdba6332025-08-20T02:39:56ZengHumber PressJournal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education2561-59042025-01-016210.69520/jipe.v6i2.204The Role of Self-Compassion in the Lived Experiences of Service Providers Working in Canadian Cancer Support Programs Karimah Kiranda0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3941-1902Unnati Modi1https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9920-2801Danielle Silva2Cristina Alexandra Guerrero3https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5075-4027Tina Lackner4https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1524-7108Humber PolytechnicHumber PolytechnicHumber PolytechnicHumber PolytechnicHumber Polytechnic Working and providing cancer support services is both challenging and rewarding, yet the lived experiences of the personnel providing such services remain overlooked. It is vital to address the experiences of service providers to better understand the nature of their work and how it may impact their well-being. This paper explores the lived experiences of cancer support service providers, focusing on how they conceptualize and practice self-compassion in their workplace. A qualitative approach centred on phenomenological hermeneutics was utilized to collect in-depth interview data from service providers working in cancer support centres across southwestern Ontario, Canada. The research team used descriptive and narrative analysis to analyze the interview data and produced the following four themes: 1) acknowledging personal limits as a form of self-compassion; 2) organizational support; 3) emotional environment; and 4) prioritized self-care. Recommendations include more comprehensive support systems for service providers, especially if they may be experiencing secondary trauma or compassion fatigue. The findings gleaned from the service providers contribute valuable considerations for both the cancer care workplace and post-secondary institutions. While the findings provide real-life examples of effective support for service providers in the workplace, they also provide important considerations for post-secondary programming that include strategies for balancing empathetic service delivery with exercising self-compassion. https://jipe.ca/index.php/jipe/article/view/204service providerscancer caresupport servicesphenomenological hermeneutics in cancer carepost-secondary programming for service providersself-compassion |
| spellingShingle | Karimah Kiranda Unnati Modi Danielle Silva Cristina Alexandra Guerrero Tina Lackner The Role of Self-Compassion in the Lived Experiences of Service Providers Working in Canadian Cancer Support Programs Journal of Innovation in Polytechnic Education service providers cancer care support services phenomenological hermeneutics in cancer care post-secondary programming for service providers self-compassion |
| title | The Role of Self-Compassion in the Lived Experiences of Service Providers Working in Canadian Cancer Support Programs |
| title_full | The Role of Self-Compassion in the Lived Experiences of Service Providers Working in Canadian Cancer Support Programs |
| title_fullStr | The Role of Self-Compassion in the Lived Experiences of Service Providers Working in Canadian Cancer Support Programs |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of Self-Compassion in the Lived Experiences of Service Providers Working in Canadian Cancer Support Programs |
| title_short | The Role of Self-Compassion in the Lived Experiences of Service Providers Working in Canadian Cancer Support Programs |
| title_sort | role of self compassion in the lived experiences of service providers working in canadian cancer support programs |
| topic | service providers cancer care support services phenomenological hermeneutics in cancer care post-secondary programming for service providers self-compassion |
| url | https://jipe.ca/index.php/jipe/article/view/204 |
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