Abstract
BackgroundHealth care personnel who work in penitentiary environments are at risk of burnout due to a variety of factors. Latest research have brought forward a classification system consisting of five burnout profiles on a continuum between engagement and burnout. The objective of this study was to measure the prevalence of these profiles among professionals working in French health units providing health services for inmates according to the three levels of care and to investigate their characteristics to propose appropriate management and prevention approaches.MethodsThis study involved a cross-sectional analysis of data from the Evaluation of Health CAre in Units for inmates (EHCAU) study, a multicentric cohort study of professionals practising in health units for inmates in eastern France. Burnout was assessed by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) at the levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment. Job conditions and characteristics were measured using the Karasek Job Content Questionnaire and the Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire. Data on sociodemographic characteristics and self-reported health status were also collected. Differences between MBI profiles were identified using Fisher’s exact test and the Wilcoxon test.ResultsOf the 350 professionals surveyed, 150 responded (42.9%). The most frequent profiles were ineffective (36.9%) and engagement (34.8%). The burnout (7.8%), overextended (15.6%) and disengaged (5.0%) profiles made up the remaining quarter. Significant differences in the burnout profiles were observed in regard to professional occupation (p = 0.01), irregular eating hours (p = 0.04), history of complaint procedures (p = 0.05), anxiety (p < 0.0001), depression (p < 0.0001) and the mental component of self-reported quality of life (p < 0.0001).ConclusionsThese results confirm that special attention should be given to professionals working in these challenging settings. The results have important implications for theory and research and for more customized approach interventions.Trial registrationID RCB: 2018-A03029–46.
Highlights
Health care personnel who work in penitentiary environments are at risk of burnout due to a variety of factors
The “engagement” and “burnout” profiles are straightforward as they represent people who consistently score across the three Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) scales
The first objective of our study was to investigate the prevalence of the different MBI profiles, psychological morbidity, job satisfaction and job stress among workers in health units providing services for inmates according to the three levels of care required
Summary
Health care personnel who work in penitentiary environments are at risk of burnout due to a variety of factors. As burnout is associated with a considerable risk of both personal and/or professional consequences such as cardiovascular diseases, substance use disorders, depressive disorder, anxiety, suicide [7,8,9,10], adverse effects on quality of work, resignation and premature retirement [11, 12], practitioners need to determine ways to deal with and prevent burnout by using both individual-focused and organizational approaches [13, 14]. The distinct burnout patterns along the burnoutengagement continuum were studied in an innovative research, reporting five different profiles based on MBI scale scores [15]. The other three profiles, namely “ineffective”, “overextended” and “disengaged”, show inconsistencies across the three MBI scales This recent approach to identifying patterns provides new opportunities for understanding both the causes and effects of burnout and may have impacts to reduce or prevent burnout by selecting the best interventions
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