Objective: study the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence of burnout and the associated factors among health care workers in Saudi Arabia. Methodology: This study targeted all categories of health care workers (HCWs) in Saudi Arabia. The data were collected through an online questionnaire that included: sociodemographic data, medical history, smoking history, work characteristics, direct care of infected patients, questions of Maslach Burnout inventory (MBI) to assess burnout among health care workers that assess the Emotional Exhaustion (EE), Depersonalization (DP), and Personal Achievement (PA). The collected data was analyzed through SPSS program version 25. Results: The total number of the participants in this study was 3,557. The results showed that 38.5% of the participants scored high for EE, 31.2% for DP, and 33.6% for PA. On analysis, being younger than the age of 40 years, female, or Saudi nationality tended to be associated with increased all burnout parameters. Shift work, on call duties, changing working hours, direct involvement in management of COVID-19 patients were associated with high burnout scores. Conclusion: High burnout is common among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 pandemic due to direct contact with infected cases and changes in the working patterns during the pandemic, etc. These factors should be discussed to find solutions to relieve the health care workers from excess stress and burnout.
Introduction
Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly infectious serious acute respiratory syndrome that has emerged in Wuhan, China, and has spread rapidly throughout the world including Saudi Arabia. An important source of infection of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is healthcare-associated infection (HAI). Healthcare workers (HCWs) have a greater risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection than the general population. Globally, thousands of HCWs have lost their lives due to COVID-19 infection.
Aim
Identify Incidence Rate and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 infection among health workers in Saudi Arabia.
Methodology
A retrospective cohort study carried from March to Nov 2020. HCWs selected by a Complete Enumeration Survey method. Data analyzed in frequencies and percentage tables. To test the differences, Post Hoc after Chi-Square- (χ
2
) tests were used.
Results
As of November 30, 2020, a total of 57,159 HCWs tested positive with COVID-19. Their median age was 34 years, and 53% were male. Nurses were the most infected HCWs category (36%). The most common source of infection was from the community (78%). The majority of HCWs who acquired the infection from healthcare facilities got the infection from another HCW (63%). There was a significant difference between community and healthcare-acquired COVID-19 in relation to gender (P < 0.001) nationality (P < 0.001) job categories (P < 0.001) three age groups (<26: P = 0.012, 26-35 and 36-45: P < 0.001), and among HCWs who worked in MOH and private healthcare facilities (P < 0.001). The total number of reported deaths among HCWs during the study period was 198, with a case fatality rate of (0.35%).
Conclusion
This study findings show that infected HCWs characteristics were similar to the previous studies and indicate incidence rates of 10% among COVID-19 infected HCWs in Saudi Arabia. Analysis of the infection status of HCWs is critical, to understand their needs and challenges, improve protective measures, and provide effective recommendations for policymakers.
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