Burnout syndrome in healthcare professionals who care for elderly people with Alzheimer’s

Abstract

Objective: Identify what is the burnout syndrome, how it affects professionals, what are its symptoms, what is the role of nursing in the face of this syndrome. Methods: This study is a bibliographic search, where information was extracted from the MEDILINE and SCIELO database. With the following descriptors: Alzheimer, Burnout and Elderly. Articles were selected between the years 2009 to 2013. We excluded all those that were not related to the proposed theme. Results: Burnout syndrome or professional exhaustion syndrome is a type of occupational and institutional stress, constituting one of the main occupational diseases in the world with a predilection for health professionals, education and assistance services. Inducing physical and psychological illness, compromising the lives of these professionals and the result of their work (COSTA, 2009). Bunourt’s syndrome affects caregivers in a very subtle and insidious way, the symptoms of this syndrome are diverse and can be divided into four levels: Physical health level, emotional level, psychic level, behavioral level (GUSMÃO et al., 2010). Nursing should contribute to preventive measures where it is possible to better understand how the syndrome starts and how it evolves over time, thus allowing it to act early in preventive actions (PEREIRA, 2013). Conclusion: There is a need to seek alternatives and expand studies related to minimizing factors that predispose to the appearance of burnout syndrome in caregivers of elderly people with Alzheimer’s.