DARE 2 CARE (D2C)

One of the great challenges for laboratory animal professionals is acceptance and management of the demanding emotional effects from working with animals within the research field. The term that has been coined to describe this emotional toll is Compassion Fatigue (CF).

Compassion Fatigue is a manifestation of stress that presents as emotional, physical, and spiritual exhaustion associated with chronic exposure to stressful situations when working in the challenging environment of using animals in the research field. Laboratory animal professionals are at a high risk for CF due to the daily care they provide for research animals. Symptoms of CF range from depression, anxiety, cynicism and physical ailments to isolation, absenteeism, hopelessness, substance abuse, and even suicide.

As Compassion Fatigue is a normal consequence of caring, this project of building the Dare 2 Care (D2C) Compassion in Science Program at the University of Washington has been designed to assist all members of the research team in understanding and coping with this common concern by managing the emotional challenges resulting from the care and use of laboratory animals.