The Perception of Occupation by Hospital Nurses in Poland and Germany in Terms of the Risk of Excessive Stress and Burnout as Well as Possible Coping and Preventive Solutions.

Dorota Kwiatkowska-Ciotucha,Cyprian Kozyra,Urszula Załuska

doi:10.3390/ijerph18041797

Dorota Kwiatkowska-Ciotucha, Cyprian Kozyra + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041797

Copy DOI

Abstract

Nurses constitute a professional group exposed to a high risk of stress and occupational burnout. Fewer nurses are recruited every year and the ever higher age of those professionally active is alarming. This article presents the results of international comparative studies from 2018 and 2019 involving Polish and German nurses (747 people) dedicated to the perception of aspects of nurses’ work in terms of the risk of excessive stress and burnout and possible preventive measures. Using a proprietary questionnaire, the authors evaluated differences in the perception of the nursing profession in Poland and Germany, as well as in terms of seniority or decision-making. Next, the relationship between the perception of work specificity and opinions about professional risks and possible preventive measures was evaluated. The analysis used the Mann-Whitney U test and correlation analysis of the questions. Using exploratory factor analysis, the number of dimensions describing the nursing profession was reduced from 16 to four related to (1) workload, (2) job satisfaction, (3) atmosphere in the organisation and (4) sense of control over one’s own work. The results showed statistically significant differences in the perception of professional specificity and risks according to the analysed characteristics.

Highlights

IntroductionContemporary concepts of occupational burnout define this phenomenon as a “disturbed professional relationship” between the individual and the individual’s work and its related requirements [1]
The study results indicate statistically significant relationships between occupational burnout and occupational stress among nurses, as well as differentiation in terms of education, age and seniority [27]
In the case of statements describing the job characteristics, multivariate analyses [28] were carried out based on the correlation matrix between items: reliability analysis with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with the principal components method and varimax rotation and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with the maximum likelihood estimation method

Summary

Introduction

Contemporary concepts of occupational burnout define this phenomenon as a “disturbed professional relationship” between the individual and the individual’s work and its related requirements [1]. The consequences of burnout are very serious both for the individual (demotivation, discouragement, desensitisation, poorer quality of services provided, mental problems) and for the organisation (low efficiency, lack of commitment, creativity, financial losses). This is the result of psychological phenomena causing burnout such as psychophysical and emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced evaluation of one’s own achievements [4]. In the 21st century, the problem of burnout has been widely recognized. In May 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized burnout as an “occupational syndrome” which will find its place in the 11th Revision of the International

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion