Burnout Syndrome in a Military Tertiary Hospital Staff during the COVID-19 Contingency

Abstract

(1) Background: Burnout syndrome (BOS) is defined as a psychological state of physical and mental fatigue associated with work. The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted the physical and mental wellbeing of health professionals. The objective of this work was to determine the impact on personnel, monitoring the frequency of BOS throughout the pandemic. (2) Methods: The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was self-applied in four periods of the pandemic according to sociodemographic and employment characteristics. In this study, all hospital personnel were included; the association of BOS with sex, age, type of participant (civilian or military), military rank and profession was analyzed. (3) Results: The frequency of BOS was 2.4% (start of the pandemic), 7.9% (peak of the first wave), 3.7% (end of the first wave) and 3.6% (peak of the third wave). Emotional exhaustion (EE) was the most affected factor, and the groups most affected were men under 30 years of age, civilians, chiefs and doctors, especially undergraduate medical doctors and specialty resident doctors, and nursing personnel were less affected. (4) Conclusions: The low BOS levels show that the containment measures and military training implemented by the hospital authorities were effective, although the chief personnel were more affected in the first wave. It is probable that this combination allowed the containment of BOS, which was not observed in civilians.

Association between Working Time and Burnout Syndrome in Peruvian Military during the Second Epidemic Wave of COVID-19

“…In addition, military personnel with fear of COVID-19 significantly increased the prevalence of emotional exhaustion. This is similar to that reported by Martinez-Cuazitl et al who reported 32.9% emotional exhaustion in military personnel [ 15 ]. Additionally, other studies found 35.7% with moderate and 31.9% with severe emotional exhaustion, being the main predictors of this condition the working hours, psychological comorbidities, and fear of infection [ 59 ].…”

“…Depersonalization is defined as a distant or indifferent attitude towards work, which manifests itself as insensitive and cynical behavior. The result found in this study is higher than that reported by a study in Mexico where 30.7% were found in the military [ 15 ]. Additionally, it differs from that found in European studies with a prevalence of 58.0% [ 11 ].…”

“…Of Mexican policemen, it was found that 39.1% presented emotional exhaustion [ 14 ]. In another study, 32.9% of BS was estimated in a group of military personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 15 ]. Likewise, at the beginning of the pandemic, a higher frequency of BS was reported in the military compared to the civilian population [ 15 ].…”

“…In another study, 32.9% of BS was estimated in a group of military personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 15 ]. Likewise, at the beginning of the pandemic, a higher frequency of BS was reported in the military compared to the civilian population [ 15 ]. Furthermore, in another study conducted on military physicians in the United States, it was found that BS and emotional exhaustion affected 10% and 73%, respectively [ 16 ].…”

“…While in Brazilian police officers, a higher frequency of Burnout symptoms was reported in those who consumed alcohol and drugs, considering as possible risk factors [ 9 ]. Other multiple risk factors have been documented for the development of BS in the military: stress, time spent at work, and not having time to spend with family and friends, among others [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Conversely, some important protective factors for BS are physical activity, religious affiliation, personal self-realization, and job gratification [ 14 , 17 ], although there might be many others.…”