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Burnout in Healthcare Workers: A Public Health Issue in 21st Century

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Occupational Safety and Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 18090

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Edinêis De Brito Guirardello

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Guest Editor

Faculdade de Enfermagem, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas 13083-872, Brazil
Interests: job satisfaction; patient safety; nurse work environment; nursing care

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that health workers have been facing heavy career burdens, which has led many to burnout as a result of associated physical, emotional, and psychological stress. In addition to the problems this causes to healthcare workers’ health, it also results in inadequate care for patients. Healthcare worker burnout has become a major, increasingly concerning issue in the 21st century.

This Special Issue aims to collect the latest research in the field of full cycle occupational nursing care intervention. We plan to provide a new perspective in recent research on health workers’ occupational development and nursing intervention quality improvement. We invite the submission of original research articles, reviews, opinions, etc., to be published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health by MDPI. Qualitative or quantitative contributions from basic or applied research that will expand the knowledge in this field are welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Edinêis De Brito Guirardello
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Keywords

burnout
healthcare workers
nursing care delivery
occupational health
nursing intervention
nursing practice
nurse work environment
nursing training

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 1124 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of a Psychoeducational Group Program on the Mental Well-Being of Unit-Based Nurse Leaders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

by Amanda T. Sawyer, Hong Tao and Amanda K. Bailey

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(11), 6035; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20116035 - 2 Jun 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4691

Abstract

This randomized controlled trial examined the impact of a psychoeducational group program on the mental well-being of unit-based nurse leaders, specifically nurse managers and assistant nurse managers. The program was developed around the themes of resilience, insight, self-compassion, and empowerment to fight burnout and enhance purposeful adaptive coping to reduce distress and improve mental wellbeing. The sample included 77 unit-based nurse leaders. Outcomes included post-traumatic growth, resilience, insight, self-compassion, empowerment, perceived stress, burnout, and job satisfaction. Paired samples t-tests and repeated measures ANOVA tests were conducted to compare outcomes at baseline to the follow-up timepoints of endpoint, one-month follow-up, three-month follow-up, and six-month follow-up. The intervention group participants showed significant improvement in post-traumatic growth between baseline and all follow-up timepoints compared to the waitlist control group. Among intervention group participants, there were also significant improvements in self-reflection and insight, self-compassion, psychological empowerment, and compassion satisfaction, as well as significant reductions in perceived stress, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. This study extends existing evidence that this psychoeducational group program can be an effective intervention for improving and protecting mental wellbeing. Among nurse leaders, it can reduce stress and burnout and improve post-traumatic growth, self-reflection and insight, self-compassion, psychological empowerment, and compassion satisfaction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Burnout in Healthcare Workers: A Public Health Issue in 21st Century)

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15 pages, 369 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ability of Emotional Regulation and Control as a Stress Predictor in Healthcare Professionals

by Marija Kadović, Štefica Mikšić and Robert Lovrić

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 541; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010541 - 29 Dec 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4078

Abstract

Emotional Regulation and Control implies a person’s ability to respond to stressful demands and emotional experiences in a socially acceptable and adaptive way. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the contribution of the ability of emotional regulation and control in the prediction of workplace stress in healthcare professionals. The study included 203 healthcare professionals employed at a hospital in the Republic of Croatia. Data were collected using two validated questionnaires: Questionnaire on Workplace Stressors for Hospital Professionals and Emotional Regulation and Control Questionnaire (ERC). Most respondents (64%) experienced stress in Workplace Organization and Financial Issues factor, while 52.7% experienced stress in Public Criticism factor. The respondents assessed their ability of emotional regulation and control to be low (mean = 55; range = 20–100). The level of experienced stress was significantly higher if the ability of emotional regulation and control was low (Spearman’s Rho = 0.308; p < 0.001). The multivariate regression model (11.2% explained variances; p = 0.001) indicated a greater possibility of severe stress in respondents who have stronger Memory of Emotionally Saturated Content (odds ratio = 1.18; 95% CI = 1.07–1.30). The results of this study signify the need to establish effective institutional support aimed at objectifying stress and strengthening emotional intelligence and empathy in healthcare professionals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Burnout in Healthcare Workers: A Public Health Issue in 21st Century)

21 pages, 1792 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Mediation Chain Effect of Cognitive Crafting and Personal Resources on the Relationship between Role Ambiguity and Dentists’ Emotional Exhaustion

by Rosana Stan and Cristina Ciobanu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16617; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416617 - 10 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2420

Abstract

Based on Job Demands-Resources (JD-R), Conservation of Resources (COR) and self-regulation theories integration, this study investigated the association between role ambiguity and emotional exhaustion among 191 Romanian dentists, as well as the chain mediating role of cognitive crafting and three personal resources (resilience, optimism, and self-efficacy). Three conceptual models which included, separately, the three personal resources were proposed. PROCESS macros were used to verify the hypotheses related to the testing of the path mediation models. The results indicated that role ambiguity was directly and positively associated with dentists’ burnout. More importantly, the sequential indirect effect of role ambiguity on burnout via mediators in chains (cognitive crafting and resilience for the first model; cognitive crafting and optimism for the second model; cognitive crafting and self-efficacy for the third model) was significant. The findings provide a direction for dentists’ health intervention because it reveals how the negative impact of role ambiguity on emotional exhaustion increasing can be buffered by the cumulative effect of cognitive crafting and different personal resources, as a result of their chain reinforcement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Burnout in Healthcare Workers: A Public Health Issue in 21st Century)

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20 pages, 521 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Psychological Distress in South African Healthcare Workers Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Associations and Mitigating Factors

by Hsin-Ling Lee, Kerry S. Wilson, Colleen Bernstein, Nisha Naicker, Annalee Yassi and Jerry M. Spiegel

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 9722; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159722 - 7 Aug 2022

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3969

Abstract

While the global COVID-19 pandemic has been widely acknowledged to affect the mental health of health care workers (HCWs), attention to measures that protect those on the front lines of health outbreak response has been limited. In this cross-sectional study, we examine workplace contextual factors associated with how psychological distress was experienced in a South African setting where a severe first wave was being experienced with the objective of identifying factors that can protect against HCWs experiencing negative impacts. Consistent with mounting literature on mental health effects, we found a high degree of psychological distress (57.4% above the General Health Questionnaire cut-off value) and a strong association between perceived risks associated with the presence of COVID-19 in the healthcare workplace and psychological distress (adjusted OR = 2.35, p < 0.01). Our research indicates that both training (adjusted OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.21–0.81) and the reported presence of supportive workplace relationships (adjusted OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.27–0.97) were associated with positive outcomes. This evidence that workplace resilience can be reinforced to better prepare for the onset of similar outbreaks in the future suggests that pursuit of further research into specific interventions to improve resilience is well merited. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Burnout in Healthcare Workers: A Public Health Issue in 21st Century)

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9 pages, 1003 KiB

Open AccessOpinion

Lack of Interventional Studies on Suicide Prevention among Healthcare Workers: Research Gap Revealed in a Systematic Review

by Soo-Hyun Nam, Jeong-Hyun Nam and Chan-Young Kwon

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(20), 13121; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013121 - 12 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2021

Abstract

Addressing the mental health needs of healthcare workers (HCWs), who are at high risk of suicide, is an important public health issue. Therefore, this systematic review investigated the effect of psychosocial intervention targeting suicidal behavior (i.e., suicidal ideation, attempt, or fulfillment) of HCWs. Five electronic databases were searched for interventional studies reporting HCWs’ suicidal behavior outcomes. Only two interventional studies were included in this review, and no consistent conclusion was drawn from the existing literature regarding the psychosocial prevention strategies focusing on the suicide risk of HCWs. The results indicate that compared with numerous observational studies reporting poor mental health and/or severity of suicidal risk among HCWs, intervention studies using psychosocial strategies to reduce the risk of suicide are relatively scarce. Although the insufficient number and heterogeneity of the included studies leave the results inconclusive, our findings emphasize the need to fill the research gap in this field. The causes of the gap are further explored, and suggestions for future research are provided. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Burnout in Healthcare Workers: A Public Health Issue in 21st Century)

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