Assessing Burnout and Well-Being in Higher Education Health Science Faculty

Abstract

This study aimed to examine and compare the extent of burnout among health science faculty at a higher education institution and their self-reported perception of well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. The design of the study was cross-sectional, descriptive survey research. An electronic questionnaire was developed to measure the constructs of burnout and well-being. Validated instruments used in the survey included the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) and the World Health Organization-5 Well-being Index. The Qualtrics ® platform was used to distribute the survey to all full-time faculty within the College of Health Sciences. 45 respondents from nursing, community and environmental health, kinesiology, social work, respiratory care, allied health sciences, and radiologic sciences completed the survey. Significant differences were observed in the extent of burnout and perception of well-being between faculty members who had clinical teaching responsibilities within their faculty role compared to those who did not, <em>p</em> = 0.005, Partial Eta Squared = 0.318. Faculty with a 9-month contract appointment had significantly lower OLBI-Disengagement scores (p = 0.024) and OLBI-Full Burnout scores (p = 0.047) compared with those with another contract length. There was a significantly negative relationship between the extent of burnout and perception of well-being. In this sample of health science faculty, burnout, as characterized by increased exhaustion and disengagement, was moderately prevalent and associated with poorer well-being.

Areas of work-life that contribute to burnout among higher education health science faculty and perception of institutional support

“…The overwhelming shift in responsibilities of these faculty to not only ensure that students could navigate the challenges relating to COVID-19 while meeting academic requirements but also navigate their own challenges with limited social connectivity seems to have had an impact on the perception of overall wellness. Although the quantitative results of this investigation identified that this sample perceived themselves as generally “well” (McHenry et al, 2023 ); there were several qualitative responses that indicated a subsample of faculty who were struggling. An assessment of the degree to which the greater population of higher education faculty has been affected by impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic has been slow to emerge.…”

“…Faculty with clinical teaching responsibilities reported higher rates of burnout. Complete findings of the quantitative portion of the study are reported elsewhere (McHenry et al, 2023 ). The predetermined themes were interwoven throughout the narrative responses.…”

“…This paper examines and reports only the qualitative findings of a survey that assessed burnout and well-being in higher education health science faculty. The quantitative portion involved collecting data that incorporated the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) and World Health Organization-5 Well-Being Index (McHenry et al, 2023 ). Subsequently, after assessing the findings related to burnout and well-being, qualitative responses to two questions were reviewed to better understand the reasoning for the perceived burnout, similar to a study conducted by Miyasaki et al ( 2017 ).…”

Defining and Advancing a Systems Approach to Achieving Educator Wellbeing: An Integrative Review of Wellbeing in Higher Education

“…Although these demands predate the COVID-19 pandemic (Kinman & Johnson, 2019;Watts & Robertson, 2011) it focussed attention on employee wellbeing (de los Reyes et al, 2022;Schwab et al, 2022;Shen & Slater, 2021). For many educators, the stress of the pandemic was exacerbated by the rapid shift to emergency remote education (McHenry et al, 2023;Schwab et al, 2022) while simultaneously managing health concerns and responding to pastoral concerns and the digital poverty experienced by many students (Hardman et al, 2022;Husbands & Prescott, 2023) alongside experiences of loneliness, isolation, digital fatigue and high levels of anxiety (Hurria, 2023). These cumulative demands on educators demonstrated the complex and dynamic environment educators work within and the potential threats to wellbeing as well as their resilience .…”