Rasch Analysis of Lebanese Nurses’ Responses to the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory Alternative to the Maslach Burnout Inventory

Abstract

Introduction: Lebanon struggled with political and economic crises before it was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Executive nurses and hospital administrations need reliable open-source measures to monitor burnout and prioritize nurses for intervention as Lebanon struggles with the multiple crises compounded by rising numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Objectives: The study aimed to determine whether the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory scales are suitable for settings experiencing multiple crises. Its objectives were to investigate the CBI scales' measurement properties, identify burnout levels in a sample of nurses experiencing compound stressors, assess whether the scales' three-dimensional burnout model is plausible, and establish norms for using the scales in work settings subject to compound external stressors. Methods: The study is a psychometric analysis of the anonymous survey data of 142 registered nurses working in acute hospitals in Lebanon. We fitted the data to unidimensional and multidimensional Rasch rating scale models. Item fit, person separation and reliability, targeting, differential item functioning, and scale norms were estimated. Results: Nurses in the sample had a high level of burnout. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory scales have excellent reliability. The personal burnout and work-related scales were highly correlated and moderately correlated with the client-related burnout scale. Possible differential functioning in the work-related burnout scale requires further investigation. Conclusion: More extensive and diverse studies in workplaces subjected to compound stressors are required to confirm the study results. Meanwhile, executive nurses and hospital administrations can use the norms reported to prioritize nurses for burnout prevention and intervention programs. In Lebanon, our reported CBI scale values can be used as baseline standards for studies tracking how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the nursing workforce.