Burnout of Healthcare Workers amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Japanese Cross-Sectional Survey.

Yoshito Nishimura,Hideharu Hagiya,Fumio Otsuka,Tomoko Miyoshi,Yoshinori Kosaki

doi:10.3390/ijerph18052434

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic has drastically changed how we live and work. Amid the prolonged pandemic, burnout of the frontline healthcare professionals has become a significant concern. We conducted a cross-sectional survey study to provide data about the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and the prevalence of burnout in healthcare professionals in Japan. Healthcare workers in a single Japanese national university hospital participated in the survey, including basic demographics, whether a participant engaged in care of COVID-19 patients in the past 2 weeks and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Of those, 25.4% fully answered the survey; 33.3% were doctors and 63.6% were nurses, and 36.3% engaged in care of COVID-19 patients in the past 2 weeks. Compared to those belonging to General Medicine, those in Emergency Intensive Care Unit were at higher risk of burnout (odds ratio (OR), 6.7; 95% CI, 1.1–42.1; p = 0.031). Of those who engaged in care of COVID-19 patients, 50% reported burnout while 6.1% did not (OR 8.5, 95% CI; 1.3–54.1; p = 0.014). The burnout of healthcare workers is a significant concern amid the pandemic, which needs to be addressed for sustainable healthcare delivery.

Highlights

Accepted: 24 February 2021The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic has drastically changed how we live and work
While there has been no nationwide data about the prevalence of burnout in Japanese healthcare workers (HCWs), we previously reported that approximately 20–30% of resident physicians in Japan, who are considered to be more vulnerable to stress, were experiencing burnout before the COVID-19 pandemic [6]
The mean years of experience of the participants were 11.5. 11 (33.3%) were physicians, and 21 (63.6%) were nurses. 12 (36.4%) of the respondents answered that they had engaged in the direct care of COVID-19 patients or patients under investigation (PUI) in the past 2 weeks

Summary

Introduction

Accepted: 24 February 2021The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic has drastically changed how we live and work. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 88 million cases and 1.9 million deaths have been reported worldwide as of 12 January. Japan, which successfully controlled the pandemic at first [2], has experienced its third wave of the big surge in the number of COVID-19 patients since November 2020. As of 12 January 2021, 290,736 cumulative cases have been reported [3]. Burnout is prevalent among healthcare workers (HCWs) [5]. While there has been no nationwide data about the prevalence of burnout in Japanese HCWs, we previously reported that approximately 20–30% of resident physicians in Japan, who are considered to be more vulnerable to stress, were experiencing burnout before the COVID-19 pandemic [6]. Several studies have been conducted to look into the prevalence of and factors

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Discussion

Conclusion