Burnout among health care workers during COVID-19 pandemic: prevalence and risk factors

Abstract

During COVID-19 pandemic, health-care workers (HCW) have been exposed to multiple psychosocial stressors. Although the problem of burnout, which overlaps with the symptoms of depression, remains urgent, few studies have addressed it comprehensively. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and the factors associated with burnout among HCW.We conducted a cross-sectional study on March-April 2021 using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to HCW who were involved in COVID-19 management patients. The 22-item Maslach burnout inventory was performed to measure the prevalence of burnout defined as follows: high score of emotional exhaustion (≥27) plus high score of depersonalization (≥13) or low score of personal accomplishment (≤31).Overall, 250 HCW were included in this study. The sex ratio was 0.17. Their median age was 34 years (interqurtile range (IQR) = [30-40 years]). The average number of work experience was 11.1±3.4 years. There were 46 cases (18.4%) with a chronic disease. Among the study population, 131 HCW (51.4%) were infected with covid-19. The overall burnout prevalence was 45.6%. Female gender (Odds ratio (OR)=4.3; p < 0.001) and unmarried status (OR = 3.3; p < 0.001) were statistically associated with burnout. Participants in the burnout group had statistically higher number of working hours per day (≥6 hours) (OR = 3.2; p = 0.003), of night shifts per week (4±1 vs 3±1; p = 0.04), but lower number of working experience years (7±0.6 vs 12±1; p = 0.017). History of chronic diseases (OR = 1.8;p=0.021), witnessing a COVID-19 death while working (OR = 3.1; p < 0.001) and suffering from sleep deprivation (OR = 1.9; p = 0.034) were statistically more frequent in the burnout group of HCW.The findings of this study indicated that the burnout syndrome was highly prevalent among HCW. More psychological support should be provided for this population in order to provide a high-quality of care for patients.Highly prevalent of burnout syndrome.Psychological support should be provided.