Prevalence of burnout, depression, anxiety and stress in Australian midwives: a cross-sectional survey

Abstract

BackgroundThe health and wellbeing of midwives are important considerations for workforce retention and quality care. The occurrence and relationships among mental health conditions such as burnout and depression have received little attention. We investigated the prevalence of burnout, depression, anxiety and stress in Australian midwives.MethodsAn online survey was conducted in September 2014. Participants were recruited through the Australian College of Midwives and professional networks. The survey sought personal and professional details. Standard measures included the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) (Personal, Work and Client subscales), and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS). The sample was collapsed into two groups according to DASS clinical cut-offs (normal/mild versus moderate/severe/extreme). Effect size statistics were calculated and judged according to Cohen’s guidelines.ResultsOne thousand thirty-seven surveys were received. Respondents were predominantly female (98%), with an average age of 46.43 years, and 16.51 years of practice. Using a CBI subscale cut-off score of 50 and above (moderate and higher), 64.9% (n = 643) reported personal burnout; 43.8% (n = 428) reported work-related burnout; and 10.4% (n = 102) reported client-related burnout. All burnout subscales were significantly correlated with depression, anxiety and stress, particularly personal and work-related burnout with Spearman’s rho correlations ranging from .51 to .63 (p < .001). Around 20% of midwives reported moderate/ severe/ extreme levels of depression (17.3%); anxiety (20.4%), and stress (22.1%) symptoms. Mann-Whitney U tests revealed significant differences between groups with depression (r = .43), anxiety (r = .41) and stress (r = 48) having a medium size effect on burnout.ConclusionPrevalence of personal and work-related burnout in Australian midwives was high. The physical and psychological exhaustion associated with the different types of burnout were reflected in symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms. Further research is needed to support the personal well-being of midwives and minimize workplace burnout by developing short and long term strategies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12884-016-1212-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Association of cumulative job dissatisfaction with depression, anxiety and stress among expatriate nurses in Saudi Arabia

“…The prevalence of depression overall (53%) and severe depression alone (13%) that we found in our study was higher than those reported in other studies which used the DASS‐21 scale (overall: 20%–35%; severe = 8%) (Cheung & Yip, ; Creedy, Sidebotham, Gamble, Pallant, & Fenwick, ). The estimates were also higher than those reported in other studies that used a different instrument for the assessment of depression (overall: 10%–40%) (Letvak et al, ; Nourry, Luc, Lefebvre, Sultan‐Taïeb, & Béjean, ; Ohler, Kerr, & Forbes, ; Ruggiero, ).…”

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“…The pilot study confirmed face and content validity of the survey and functionality of the online system. As described elsewhere, the WHELM survey was distributed via an email link distributed through the Australian College of Midwives and professional networks (Creedy et al., ). The online survey was open for 6 weeks during June and July 2014.…”

“…Burnout is a form of psychological stress, typically characterized by exhaustion, lack of enthusiasm and motivation, feelings of ineffectiveness, often resulting in reduced efficacy in the workplace (Leiter & Maslach, ). Between 30% and 65% of midwives have reported moderate to high levels of burnout in countries such as Australia (Creedy, Sidebotham, Gamble, Pallant, & Fenwick, ; Jordan, Fenwick, Slavin, Sidebotham, & Gamble, ; Newton, McLachlan, Willis, & Forster, ), Norway (Henriksen & Lukasse, ) and Sweden (Hildingsson et al., ). Developing an understanding of factors contributing to burnout requires consideration of a midwife's work life so that prevention and intervention strategies can be implemented (Yoshida & Sandall, ).…”

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“…[4] Several studies have indicated the high prevalence of occupational burnout among midwives. [5678] Therefore, organizational strategies are required to prepare midwives for such duties, support them to deal with this occupational injury, and provide effective interventions for those with significant symptoms. [4] Fortunately, despite the undeniable role of occupation in the formation and incidence of occupational burnout, the way of responding of the individual to these conditions is important in the final examination of occupational burnout, and this means that individual factors have a significant effect on whether the person suffers from the occupational burnout.…”