High rates of burnout among maternal health staff at a referral hospital in Malawi: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundBurnout among maternal healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa may have a negative effect on services provided and efforts to mitigate high maternal mortality rates. In Malawi, research on burnout is limited and no empirical research has been conducted specifically among maternal health staff. Therefore, the aims of the study were to examine the prevalence and degree of burnout reported by healthcare workers who provide antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal services in a district referral hospital in Malawi; and, to explore factors that may influence the level of burnout healthcare workers experience.MethodsIn the current cross-sectional study, levels of burnout among staff working in obstetrics and gynaecology at a referral hospital in Malawi were examined, in addition to individual and job characteristics that may be associated with burnout.ResultsIn terms of the three dimensions of burnout, of the 101 participants, nearly three quarters (72%) reported emotional exhaustion, over one third (43%) reported depersonalization while almost three quarters (74%) experienced reduced personal accomplishment.ConclusionsBased on these findings, burnout appears to be common among participating maternal health staff and they experienced more burnout than their colleagues working in other medical settings and countries. Further research is needed to identify factors specific to Malawi that contribute to burnout in order to inform the development of prevention and treatment within the maternal health setting.

Burnout among nurses working in critical care settings: a case of a selected tertiary hospital in Rwanda

“…High scores on EE and DP subscales correspond with high level of burnout, however, for PA subscale low scores correspond to high degree of experienced burnout. 6 The study was conducted according to the ethical guidelines of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CMHS) and the ethics clearance to conduct the study was offered by the Institutional Review Board of the same university and participating institution. Participants participated voluntary and provided informed consent in a written form and their right to withdraw from the research at any time were explained.…”

“…9 The factorial stability was evaluated in different cultures and countries and it was identified that it is useful in different nations with different languages and within different professions and occupations. 6 Therefore, this tool was used in this study without much rigorous testing especially because a translated version to French was also provided when permission was granted. Only a pilot study that involved three critical care nurses was conducted to exclude contextual issues.…”

“…5 In Sub-saharan Africa, a study conducted in Malawi referral Hospital among maternal health staff revealed moderate to high level burnout among both physicians and nurses; 72% had Emotional Exhaustion (EE), 43% had Depersonalization (DP) and 74 % experienced low Personal Accomplishment(PA). 6 A study conducted in Nigeria on the prevalence of burnout and risk factors among nurses working in a Nigerian hospital, found factors associated with high level burnout in all dimensions of burnout as old age (P<0.01), female gender (P<0.01), being single (P<0.01), job title (P<0.01) and prolonged night duties (P< 0.01). 7 In Rwanda there is no such studies done and as it is fast developing country, it needs evidence to base development decisions.…”

Burnout and psychological distress among nurses in a Nigerian tertiary health institution

“…For instance, Thorsen et al 2 in a study of high rates of burnout among maternal health staff in Malawi reported that 72% of their subjects reported emotional exhaustion, 43% reported depersonalization while 74% reported reduced personal accomplishment. They concluded that burnout appeared to be common among maternal health staff that participated in the study when compared with their colleagues working in other medical settings.…”

Degree of Burnout Among Emergency Healthcare Workers and Factors Influencing Level of Burnout: A Study Protocol

“…When comparing nurses to physicians or other healthcare workers, nurses consistently reported higher levels of burnout. [2] NEED FOR THE STUDY Unfortunately, most of the studies on burnout in nursing have been conducted in Europe and United States. There are few studies from Asian countries.…”