Bayesian prevalence and burnout levels in emergency nurses. A systematic review

Abstract

This research sought to explore the level of burnout, to estimate its prevalence, and to analyze the relationships among some risk factors and the syndrome in nurses working at emergency departments. A systematic review of primary quantitative studies that measure the burnout syndrome in emergency department nurses has been performed. The search was done in October 2014 in these databases: CINAHL, CUIDEN, IBECS, LILACS, Pubmed, Proquest, Psycinfo, Scielo, Scopus and Cochrane Library. A sample of 27 studies was obtained following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Medium and high levels of emotional exhaustion dimension were mostly found. Depersonalization dimension values were mainly middle level, but also some studies found reported high levels. As for the personal accomplishment dimension, there was no consensus as to the most prevalent level in the literature reviewed. Variables such as gender, work shift and workload among others, can play a role as risk factors. The studies reviewed report medium and high level of each burnout dimension, and conclude that the prevalence of burnout in emergency nurses is high. Some sociodemographic risk factors such as age and sex, other occupational risk factors such as seniority in the profession and service, and some psychological risk factors such as anxiety, play an important role in the relationship with burnout.