Burnout among Nurses during Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak in Shiraz.

Mahsa Kamali,Sulmaz Ghahramani,Maryam Akbari,Kamran B Lankarani,Ahmad Kalateh Sadati,Seyede Zahra Ghaemi,Leila Zarei,Nasrin Shokrpour,Reza Tabirazi,Mohammad Reza Khademi,Arash Mani,Seyed Taghi Heydari

doi:10.31661/gmj.v9i0.1956

Mahsa Kamali, Sulmaz Ghahramani + Show 10 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.31661/gmj.v9i0.1956

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Abstract

Background: The function of healthcare workers, particularly nursing staff, in taking care of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, cannot be overemphasized. As the pandemic lasts, burnout among the nursing staff needs to be considered as an important challenge. This was aimed to assess the nurses’ burnout and factors affecting this variable. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, Maslach Burnout Inventory was completed by 261 nurses in Shiraz hospitals (Iran) in April 2020. This questionnaire addresses different aspects, including emotional exhaustion, personal achievement, and depersonalization, to determine the intensity of perceived burnout among nurses during the outbreak. Results: Our data demonstrated that the nurses’ burnout in Shiraz hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic was high (64.6%). Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were observed in 63.6 and 53.3 percent of the participants, respectively. Moreover, the rate of successful personal achievement among these nurses was >97%. Work experience <10 years (P=0.016), hospital ward (P=0.044), the number of deaths observed by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic (P<0.001), and the total number of shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic (P=0.006) had a positive correlation with emotional exhaustion. Conclusion: Workload and stress resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak seem to be one of the major causes of emotional exhaustion in nurses. The emotional exhaustion among nurses must be considered in epidemics, such as COVID-19.

Highlights

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) began in Wuhan, China, and spread rapidly worldwide [1, 2]
The nurses had regular shifts during the outbreak and were working in different wards, including wards devoted to COVID-19 patients, Emergency room (E.R.), internal medicine, surgery, intensive care unit (ICU), and coronary care unit (CCU) ward during the last six months
The deficiency in human resource management is a universal and critical issue faced by the health care systems during the COVID-19 pandemic; nurses are faced with an increased risk of physical and psychological pressure, arousing exhaustion among them [20, 32]

Summary

Introduction

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) began in Wuhan, China, and spread rapidly worldwide [1, 2]. A study conducted in South Korea during the outbreak of COVID-19 on burnout revealed the mediating role of the work, emotional, and financial factors in this regard [19] They reported a significant relationship between burnout and emotion regulation and no significant effect of burnout on economic issues [20]. Another qualitative study showed burnout in nurses when they had so many patients under their observation who were positive in this virus outbreak [20]. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, Maslach Burnout Inventory was completed by 261 nurses in Shiraz hospitals (Iran) in April 2020 This questionnaire addresses different aspects, including emotional exhaustion, personal achievement, and depersonalization, to determine the intensity of perceived burnout among nurses during the outbreak. The emotional exhaustion among nurses must be considered in epidemics, such as COVID-19. [GMJ.2020;9:e1956]

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Conclusion