Environment, workload, and nurse burnout in public hospitals in Chile

Abstract

Objective: To analyze, from an organizational perspective, the problem of nurse burnout in highly complex public hospitals in Chile. Method: Multicenter, observational, cross-sectional study. According to established inclusion criteria, the universe of hospitals and nurses was the object of work. Data collection was carried out through a nurse survey. Work environment was measured with the instrument Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, staffing through the nurses’ report on patient load, and burnout with the Maslach Burnout Inventory emotional exhaustion subscale. Results: Thirty-four hospitals (92%) and 1,395 nurses (75.3%) participated in the study. The prevalence of burnout was 34.7%, being higher in Santiago than in other regions of the country (p = 0.001). The logistic regression analyses showed a significant association between work environment and burnout (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.41–0.79, p = 0.001). No association was established between staffing, skill mix and burnout. Conclusion: A high percentage of nurses in Chile has burnout, which is significantly associated with the quality of the environment. The implementation of organizational strategies to improve work environments could reduce burnout and improve the quality of care.

Prevalencia del síndrome de burnouten profesionales de la salud durante la pandemia de COVID-19 en una clínica privada de Chile

“…Entre los que destaca un estudio que en 2015 señalaba que 89% de los trabajadores de salud de unidades pediátricas estaba en riesgo de padecer burnout 13 , mientras que, en 2016, otro reporte con 516 trabajadores de servicios de urgencia mostraba que 10,5% de los participantes sufría de síndrome de burnout 14 . Un estudio en personal de enfermería en el período 2017-2018 concluyó que 34,7% padece de SB 15 .…”