Abstract
Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resulted in a substantial workload and stress for frontline health professionals in high-risk areas. Little research has investigated the mechanism of occupational burnout among the frontline health professionals located in the center of the epidemic in Wuhan, China.Methods: A total of 199 frontline health professionals from Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital completed the cross-sectional survey. Mechanisms of occupational burnout (according to the Maslach Burnout Inventory–General Survey, MBI-GS) among the health professionals in Jinyintan Hospital during the COVID-19 outbreak were examined using a structural equation model (SEM).Results: The levels of the three burnout dimensions (emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy) were high at 34.2, 50.8, and 35.2%, respectively. Frontline health professionals in this stressful period reported significantly greater emotional exhaustion (p < 0.001) and job-related cynicism (p < 0.001), but no significant difference in professional efficacy (p = 0.449), when compared to employees in a large multinational company. The SEM results revealed that both acute stress symptoms and psychosomatic symptoms significantly predicted the emotional exhaustion and occupation cynicism dimensions of burnout.Conclusion: The study reveals the occupational burnout mechanism of frontline health professionals during the COVID-19 peak at the time of the outbreak. This study provides an important contribution to understanding the future psychological interventions necessary for frontline health professionals during an epidemic crisis.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak first occurred in Wuhan, Hubei province, China in December 2019 and quickly spread nationally and internationally [1]
The current study aims to investigate the relation between psychophysical variables, including acute stress symptoms and occupational burnout, in health professionals and contribute to the understanding of and future interventions for burnout during an epidemic crisis
In the two-sample comparison analyses, based on means and SDs, the health professionals in Jinyintan Hospital reported significantly greater emotional exhaustion (p < 0.001) and cynicism (p < 0.001) than the employees from Schutte’s sample; the reported scores for professional efficacy were not significantly different (p = 0.449)
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak first occurred in Wuhan, Hubei province, China in December 2019 and quickly spread nationally and internationally [1]. In an effort to control the spread and treat the infected during the COVID-19 outbreak, health professionals faced intense workloads and a high risk of occupational exposure. They experienced great distress during the treatment of patients with COVID-19 because of the uncertainty of infection information and the rapidly changing guidelines [7]. The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resulted in a substantial workload and stress for frontline health professionals in high-risk areas. Little research has investigated the mechanism of occupational burnout among the frontline health professionals located in the center of the epidemic in Wuhan, China
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