Predictors of burnout among HIV nurses in the Western Cape

Abstract

BackgroundBurnout has been implicated as one of the reasons for key healthcare personnel, such as nurses, leaving their profession, resulting in insufficient staff to attend to patients.ObjectiveWe investigated the predictors of three dimensions of burnout, namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment, among nurses in South Africa attending to patients living with HIV.MethodParticipants were recruited at a large tertiary hospital in the Western Cape region, with the help of the assistant director of nursing at the hospital. They completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Quantitative Workload Inventory, the Interpersonal Conflict at Work Scale, the Organisational Constraints Scale, the Death and Dying subscale of the Nursing Stress Scale, and the HIV and AIDS Stigma Instrument – Nurse.ResultsWe found elevated levels of burnout among the sample. Workload, job status and interpersonal conflict at work significantly explained more than one-third of the variance in emotional exhaustion (R² = 0.39, F(7, 102) = 9.28, p = 0.001). Interpersonal conflict, workload, organisational constraints and HIV stigma significantly explained depersonalisation (R² = 0.33, F(7, 102) = 7.22, p = 0.001). Job status and organisational constraints significantly predicted personal accomplishment (R² = 0.18, F(7, 102) = 3.12, p = 0.001).ConclusionFactors such as workload, job status and interpersonal conflict in the work context, organisational constraints and stigma associated with HIV were found to be predictors of burnout in the sample of nurses. Our recommendations include developing and testing interventions aimed at reducing burnout among nurses, including reducing workload and creating conditions for less interpersonal conflict at work.

Prevalence of burnout in mental health nurses and related factors: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Another possible source of burnout is that of role conflict, arising from a lack of commitment, which in turn is caused by job instability, negative affectivity, or the inability to cope with stress (Duan‐Porter et al ) and job dissatisfaction (Han et al ). Other reasons for high levels may be the monotony of work (Cañadas‐De la Fuente et al ), poor interpersonal relationships in the workplace (Bambi et al ), a prolonged presence in the same job, or lack of recognition of the work performed (in units that are often under‐staffed), all of which can erode job motivation and expectations (Roomaney et al ). Finally, we must acknowledge the possibility of aggression in the workplace, an unfortunately common occurrence due (in many cases), to staff shortages.…”

“…This problem might be overcome by helping them develop capabilities such as emotional intelligence (De Looff et al ). Furthermore, nurses who have more experience and seniority in the workplace are usually confronted more directly with work‐related restrictions (Roomaney et al ), monotony (Cañadas‐De la Fuente et al ; Gómez‐Urquiza et al ), and work overload (Cañadas‐De la Fuente et al ). All of these factors can demotivate nursing staff, even those at supervisory levels (Lahana et al ).…”

Emotional well‐being and work engagement of nurses who moonlight (dual employment) in private hospitals

“…This is the first cross-sectional study on emotional well-being and work engagement of nurses who moonlight in private hospitals in South Africa. Although there is an abundance of research on emotional well-being of nurses (Van der Colff & Rothmann, 2014;Khamisa et al, 2015;Khunou, & Davhana-Maselesele, M., 2016;Makhado & Davhana-Maselesele, 2016;Mashego et al, 2016;Dlamini & Visser, 2017;Roomaney, Steenkamp, & Kagee, 2017;Wentzel & Brysiewicz, 2018) in South Africa, there are no studies specifically focusing on emotional well-being of nurses who moonlight. We defined well-being by investigating levels of general health, mental health, emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment, compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue.…”

Factors associated with HIV-related stigma toward people living with HIV among nurses in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, China: a cross-sectional study

“…In China, tertiary hospitals that provide comprehensive services to a larger patient population are more likely to receive referrals of PLWH with opportunistic infections or other illnesses that might not be able to be cured. The complexities of providing care to terminally ill AIDS patients may make these nurses experience burnout and form avoidance attitudes [5,45].…”