Burnout in Inexperienced South African Occupational Therapists during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic further added to the work stress in vulnerable inexperienced health professionals establishing their professional identity. The objective of this study was to analyze burnout among South African occupational therapists, with between 2 and 5 years of experience, during COVID-19 lockdown. A survey using the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS), completed by 261 occupational therapists indicated higher levels of emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalization (DP) than that reported in normative data and occupational therapy studies. Over 60% of participants indicated a high level of personal accomplishment (PA), a protective factor to burnout in occupational therapy.