Burnout among healthcare professionals during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: The unpredictable nature of the new COVID-19 pandemic and the already alarming incidence of healthcare workers being affected can have a significant impact on the psychological well-being of the staff. Objective: To describe the prevalence of burnout among healthcare professionals and the associated factors. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Eight university affiliated hospitals in the capital city of Tehran, Iran. Participants: All healthcare workers at the study sites who had been taking care of COVID-19 patients. Measurements: Age, gender, marital status, having children, hospital, job category, experience, and work load, as well as the level of burnout in each subscale. Results: 326 persons (53.0%) experienced high levels of burnout. The average score in emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and lack of personal accomplishment was 26.6, 10.2, and 27.3, respectively. The level of burnout in the three subscales varied based on the personal as well as work related factors and gender was the only variable that was associated with high levels of all three domains. Limitations: There was no control group and thus we cannot claim a causal relationship between COVID-19 and the observed level of burnout. Not all confounding factors might have been accounted for. Conclusions: Burnout is prevalent among healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients. Age, gender, job category, and site of practice contribute to the level of burnout that the staff experience.

Factors associated with mental health outcomes across healthcare settings in Oman during COVID-19: frontline versus non-frontline healthcare workers

“…Being a 'once-in-a-century pandemic', 29 some of the misgivings affecting HCWs include the fear of contracting a lethal virus and spreading it to the rest of their social network, lack of evidence-based prevention and intervention, lack of essential protective gear and the fact that the pandemic requires protracted shifts with a high volume of patients with different degrees of pathology and severity. [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] This would imply that HCWs are now working in a uniquely hazardous situation and are thus vulnerable to stress and distress. In addition to operational stresses, some preliminary studies have suggested that psychosocial dysfunctions are rife among HCWs.…”

Nurses’ burnout and associated risk factors during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…After the screening of the titles and abstracts, we removed 191 records and we added 4 more records found by the reference lists scanning. Finally, we included 14 studies [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] in this systematic review that met our inclusion criteria and among them six studies in the meta-analysis that included the appropriate data.…”

“…Main characteristics of the 14 studies included in our systematic review are shown in Table 1. Study population included only nurses in five studies, 27,28,33,36,40 while nine studies [29][30][31][32]34,35,[37][38][39] included HCWs in general. A total of 17,390 nurses were included in this systematic review, while two studies 37,38 did not report the number of nurses.…”

The Experiences and Perceptions of Health-Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Muscat, Oman: A Qualitative Study

“… 9 A recent cross-sectional study from Iran reported that 53.0% of HCWs were burned out in the pandemic COVID-19 period. 10 Another review reported higher ranges of burned out among physicians specifically for emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment. 10 , 11 Additionally, social isolation, particularly when staff were exposed to prolonged quarantine, and the fear of infecting their family or having an infected family member were reported as reasons for higher rates of stress related illnesses in HCWs during crisis.…”

“… 10 Another review reported higher ranges of burned out among physicians specifically for emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment. 10 , 11 Additionally, social isolation, particularly when staff were exposed to prolonged quarantine, and the fear of infecting their family or having an infected family member were reported as reasons for higher rates of stress related illnesses in HCWs during crisis. 12 Moreover, staff may be worried due to feelings of uncertainties faced with critically ill patients.…”