Psychosocial factors and prevalence of burnout syndrome among nursing workers in intensive care units

Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate the prevalence of burnout syndrome among nursing workers in intensive care units and establish associations with psychosocial factors.MethodsThis descriptive study evaluated 130 professionals, including nurses, nursing technicians, and nursing assistants, who performed their activities in intensive care and coronary care units in 2 large hospitals in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Data were collected in 2011 using a self-reported questionnaire. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to evaluate the burnout syndrome dimensions, and the Self Reporting Questionnaire was used to evaluate common mental disorders.ResultsThe prevalence of burnout syndrome was 55.3% (n = 72). In the quadrants of the demand-control model, low-strain workers exhibited a prevalence of 64.5% of suspected cases of burnout, whereas high-strain workers exhibited a prevalence of 72.5% of suspected cases (p = 0.006). The prevalence of suspected cases of common mental disorders was 27.7%; of these, 80.6% were associated with burnout syndrome (< 0.0001). The multivariate analysis adjusted for gender, age, educational level, weekly work duration, income, and thoughts about work during free time indicated that the categories associated with intermediate stress levels - active work (OR = 0.26; 95%CI = 0.09 - 0.69) and passive work (OR = 0.22; 95%CI = 0.07 - 0.63) - were protective factors for burnout syndrome.ConclusionPsychosocial factors were associated with the development of burnout syndrome in this group. These results underscore the need for the development of further studies aimed at intervention and the prevention of the syndrome.

Preditores da síndrome de burnout em enfermeiros de unidade de terapia intensiva

“…The participants showed high levels of emotional exhaustion (47.2%) and depersonalisation (34.1%), as well as a low level of personal accomplishment (34.1%). Similar results were found in studies with emergency and intensive care nurses (12)(13)(14)(15) . Although most nurses with burnout were women, single, and childless (16)(17)(18) , there was no significant association between the occurrence of burnout and those variables (1,13,15) .…”

“…Similar results were found in studies with emergency and intensive care nurses (12)(13)(14)(15) . Although most nurses with burnout were women, single, and childless (16)(17)(18) , there was no significant association between the occurrence of burnout and those variables (1,13,15) . An international study, however, shows a contradictory result, in which the variable sex was considered a predictor of the syndrome (4) .…”

“…Nurses with burnout received 10 or more minimum wages, that is, they were well-paid professionals (16) . National studies show that there was no significant association (1,15) and it is believed that this was due to the peculiar characteristics of the sample and the small amount of participants. A significant association, however, was found in an international study, showing that the lower the income, the greater the occurrence of burnout, as low wages (reward) are incompatible with the effort required to perform tasks (4)(5) .…”

Occupational Burnout Syndrome in the nursing context: an integrative literature review

“…www.ee.usp.br/reeusp [100][101][103][104][105]107,110) , the health area (3,(8)(9)12,17,30,33,35,39,42,44,47,60,79,81,(85)(86)(88)(89)93,99,102,106) and psychology (10,23,(26)(27)(28)34,36,43,(54)(55)(73)(74)(75)90,94,(108)(109) . After reading and critical analysis of the 106 analyzed articles, the content was organized into five thematic categories to facilitate understanding, as presented below.…”

“…Overall, studies propose generalizations without giving due attention to the specificities of hospital sectors, assuming that the different work contexts present similar risks for the onset of OBS (71,94) , which is not always proven. Furthermore, emergency rooms and palliative care units are the least investigated sites probably due to difficulties in research operationalization (14,41,57,102) , although a small concentration of studies on OBS in intensive care nurses can be found (19,22,(39)(40)(92)(93) . Still, the need for further investigations on OBS in professionals from acute care (59,62) and psychiatric ward units (57,86) is clear, given that these are places which in theory present greater risks in relation to the syndrome due to the type of work performed and the attended patients.…”