Burnout Syndrome in Health Professionals in Portuguese Public Hospitals During the Pandemic Context

Abstract

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 triggered several adverse mental health situations in everyone's lives, particularly in health care professionals, especially those on the frontline. It is in this context that the starting question arises: Is COVID-19 enhancing the burnout syndrome in Portuguese public health professionals? This is the main objective of this research, and to this end a quantitative study based on a systematic review of the literature will be conducted to assess changes in burnout levels and to identify predictors of burnout in health care professionals. It was concluded that in the study by Almeida et al. conducted in Portugal, the majority of health care professionals do not have burnout symptoms, only 32.1%; while the factors that imply burnout prevalence were identified as having a medium or low level of resilience (OR=6.8), the perception of lack of social/family support (OR=5.4), and having more concerns about the future post-pandemic (OR=4.5).