Interventions to reduce occupational stress and burn out within neonatal intensive care units: a systematic review

Abstract

Occupational stress is an emerging problem among physician and nurses, and those working in intensive care settings are particularly exposed to the risk of developing burnout. To verify what types of interventions to manage occupational stress and burn out within neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) have been introduced so far and to verify their efficacy among caregivers. PsycINFO (PsycINFO 1967–July week 3 2019), Embase (Embase 1996–2019 week 29) e Medline (Ovid MEDLINE(R) without revisions 1996–July week 2 2019) were systematically searched combining MeSH and free text terms for “burn out” AND “healthcare provider” AND “NICU”. Inclusion criteria were interventions directed to healthcare providers settled in NICUs. Only English language papers were included. Six articles were included in the final analysis. All the studies reported an overall efficacy of the interventions in reducing work-related stress, both when individual focused and organisation directed. The analysis revealed low quality of the studies and high heterogeneity in terms of study design, included populations, interventions and their evaluation assessment. There is currently very limited evidence regarding the management of occupational stress and burn out within NICUs. The quality of available studies was suboptimal. The peculiarities of the NICUs should be considered when developing strategies for occupational stress management. Training self-awareness of workers regarding their reactions to the NICU environment, also from the pre-employment stage, could be an additional approach to prevent and manage stress.

Research trends and scientific analysis of publications on burnout and compassion fatigue among healthcare providers

“…Several approaches have been suggested to manage burnout among healthcare providers. The strategies include interventions at the individual and/or organizational levels [45,46]. Intervention programs for reducing burnout at the individual level include a cognitive behavioral approach, coping skills and social support.…”

Prevalence and impact of burnout, secondary traumatic stress and compassion satisfaction on hand hygiene of healthcare workers in medical aid team during COVID-19 pandemic

“…The organization-directed interventions include increased support for clinical work, structural changes, routine staff meetings, improving the work environment, etc. [20,31]. To improve hand hygiene behavior and compassion satisfaction and relieve burnout in pandemic, the managers should take more into consideration and intervention targeting should be performed.…”

Impact of burnout, secondary traumatic stress and compassion satisfaction on hand hygiene of healthcare workers during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…The individual-based interventions include mindfulness-based technique, educational, emotional empowerment (Janssen et al, 2018;West et al, 2018). The organization-directed interventions include increased support for clinical work, structural changes, routine staff meetings and improving the work environment (Bresesti et al, 2020). To improve hand hygiene behaviours and compassion satisfaction, and relieve burnout in a pandemic, the managers should take more into consideration and intervention targeting should be performed.…”