Secondary Traumatic Stress and Burnout in Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 Outbreak

Background: burnout syndrome is a serious and growing problem among medical staff. Its adverse outcomes not only affect health-care providers’ health, but also extend to their patients, resulting in bad-quality care. The COVID-19 pandemic puts frontline health-care providers at greater risk of psychological stress and burnout syndrome. Objectives: this study aimed to identify the levels of burnout among health-care professionals currently working at Assiut University hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: the current study adopted an online cross-sectional design using the SurveyMonkey® website for data collection. A total of 201 physicians were included and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) scale was used to assess the three burnout syndrome dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Results: about one-third, two-thirds, and one-quarter of the respondents had high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment, respectively. Younger, resident, and single physicians reported higher burnout scores. The personal accomplishment score was significantly higher among males. Those working more than eight hours/day and dealing with COVID-19 patients had significantly higher scores. Conclusion: during the COVID-19 pandemic, a high prevalence of burnout was recorded among physicians. Age, job title, working duration, and working hours/day were significant predictors for burnout syndrome subscale results. Preventive and interventive programs should be applied in health-care organizations during pandemics.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Burnout Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Health-Care Professionals at Assiut University Hospitals, 2020

Elghazally

Alkarn

Elkhayat

et al. 2021

“…Frontline workers reported higher level of perceived stress, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization than their colleagues working in other units. It may be, as some have argued, that direct work with COVID-19 patients constitutes a cumulative vicarious trauma for frontline workers with direct effects on stress and burnout [ 60 , 61 ]. Notably, no differences were found in personal accomplishment and resilience among these two groups of healthcare workers, perhaps suggesting that the structural components of strengths-based, psychological functioning are not influenced by time-limited stressful experiences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress, Burnout, and Resilience among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Emergency: The Role of Defense Mechanisms

Giuseppe

Nepa²,

Prout

et al. 2021

Self Cite

The experience of working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 healthcare crisis has presented a cumulative traumatic experience that affects healthcare professionals’ well-being. Psychological resources such as resilience and adaptive defense mechanisms are essential in protecting individuals from severe stress and burnout. During September 2020, 233 healthcare workers responded to an online survey to test the impact of demographic variables, COVID-19 exposure, and psychological resources in determining stress and burnout during the COVID-19 emergency. Frontline workers reported higher scores for stress, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization (p < 0.001) as compared to colleagues working in units not directly serving patients with COVID-19. Mature defensive functioning was associated with resilience and personal accomplishment (r = 0.320; p < 0.001), while neurotic and immature defenses were related to perceived stress and burnout. Stress and burnout were predicted by lower age, female gender, greater exposure to COVID-19, lower resilience, and immature defensive functioning among healthcare professionals (R2 = 463; p < 0.001). Working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to provoke greater stress and burnout. On the other hand, resilience and adaptive defense mechanisms predicted better adjustment. Future reaction plans should promote effective programs offering support for healthcare workers who provide direct care to patients with COVID-19.

“…The tool comprises 30 items, with 10 items each on compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout, and each item is rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from "strongly disagree" (1) to "strongly agree" (5). The total score range is 10-50; scores are classified as low (≤22), moderate (23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41), and high (≥42), and higher scores indicate higher compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout. As suggested by the developer, the total score was standardized to a t-score with a mean of 50 ± 10.…”

Section: Professional Quality Of Lifementioning

confidence: 99%

Compassion Satisfaction, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Burnout among Nurses Working in Trauma Centers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Lee

Jang

2021

Due to the nature of their work, trauma nurses are exposed to traumatic situations and often experience burnout. We conducted a cross-sectional study examining compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout among trauma nurses to identify the predictors of burnout. Data were collected from 219 nurses in four trauma centers in South Korea from July to August 2019. We used the Traumatic Events Inventory to measure nurses’ traumatic experience and three Professional Quality of Life subscales to measure compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that compassion satisfaction and secondary traumatic stress significantly predicted nurses’ burnout, with compassion satisfaction being the most potent predictor. The regression model explained 59.2% of the variance. Nurses with high job satisfaction, high compassion satisfaction, and low secondary traumatic stress tend to experience less burnout than their counterparts. Nurse managers should recognize that strategies to enhance job and compassion satisfaction and decrease secondary traumatic stress are required to decrease burnout among nurses in trauma centers.