Abstract
Workload in the nursing profession is high, which is associated with poor health. Thus, it is important to get a proper understanding of the working situation and to analyse factors which might be able to mitigate the negative effects of such a high workload. In Germany, many people with serious or life-threatening illnesses are treated in non-specialized palliative care settings such as nursing homes, hospitals and outpatient care. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the buffering role of resources on the relationship between workload and burnout among nurses. A nationwide cross-sectional survey was applied. The questionnaire included parts of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) (scale 'quantitative demands' measuring workload, scale 'burnout', various scales to resources), the resilience questionnaire RS-13 and single self-developed questions. Bivariate and moderator analyses were performed. Palliative care aspects, such as the 'extent of palliative care', were incorporated to the analyses as covariates. 497 nurses participated. Nurses who reported 'workplace commitment', a 'good working team' and 'recognition from supervisor' conveyed a weaker association between 'quantitative demands' and 'burnout' than those who did not. On average, nurses spend 20% of their working time with palliative care. Spending more time than this was associated with 'burnout'. The results of our study imply a buffering role of different resources on burnout. Additionally, the study reveals that the 'extent of palliative care' may have an impact on nurse burnout, and should be considered in future studies.
Highlights
Our society has to face the challenge of a growing number of older people [1], combined with an expected shortage of skilled workers, especially in nursing care [2]
In Germany, there are different studies which concentrate on people dying in hospitals or nursing homes and the associated burden on the institution’s staff [11, 12], but studies considering palliative care aspects concentrate on specialised palliative care settings [6, 13, 14]
The results of this study indicate that working in a good team, recognition from supervisor and workplace commitment is a moderator within the workload—burnout relationship
Summary
Our society has to face the challenge of a growing number of older people [1], combined with an expected shortage of skilled workers, especially in nursing care [2]. Most people are treated within general palliative care in non-specialized palliative care settings, which is provided by primary care suppliers with fundamental knowledge of palliative care. These are GPs, specialists (e.g. oncologists) and, above all, staff in nursing homes, hospitals and outpatient care [8]. In Germany, there are different studies which concentrate on people dying in hospitals or nursing homes and the associated burden on the institution’s staff [11, 12], but studies considering palliative care aspects concentrate on specialised palliative care settings [6, 13, 14]. Because the working conditions of nurses in specialised and general palliative care are somewhat different, as stated above, this paper focuses on nurses working in general palliative care, in other words, in non-specialized palliative care settings
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