Burnout and Depression in Portuguese Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic—The Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HCW) have been exposed to multiple psychosocial stressors. Resilience might protect employees from the negative consequences of chronic stress. The aim of this study was to explore the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between depression and burnout (personal, work-related, and client-related). A cross-sectional study was performed using an online questionnaire distributed via social networks. A survey was conducted comprising standardized measures of resilience (Resilience Scale-25 items), depression (subscale of Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 items), and burnout (Copenhagen Burnout Inventory Scale-19 items). A total of 2008 subjects completed the survey, and a hierarchical regression model was estimated for each burnout dimension. The results revealed that depression had not only a directed effect on personal, work- and client-related burnout, but also an indirect small effect on it through resilience. Psychological resilience played a partial mediating role between depression and all burnout dimensions. This partial mediation suggests that there may be other possible variables (e.g., social connection, self-compassion, gratitude, sense of purpose) that further explain the associations.

SARS/MERS/SARS-CoV-2 Outbreaks and Burnout Syndrome among Healthcare Workers. An Umbrella Systematic Review

“…A large number of factors interact in various ways in the workplace; among other things, all pre-existing inequalities can be accentuated during the pandemic, for example, gender inequities can be enhanced in times of pandemic [26]. In the fight against COVID-19, BOS has been described as a major threat to the stability of the frontline workforce [27][28][29][30]. The confrontation with a new, highly diffusive disease exposes workers to significant stress that can affect mental health in different ways; acute stress will mainly cause anxiety, mood changes, sleep disorders, fear, and post-traumatic stress disorder, while chronic stress may cause BOS, which is a condition strongly linked to impaired work ability [31,32].…”

Burnout in Intensive Care Unit Workers during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Single Center Cross-Sectional Italian Study

“…Resilience might protect ICU workers from burnout, as reported in a Canadian qualitative study [ 18 ]. Resilience is described as the ability to face problems and adapt to adverse conditions [ 19 , 20 ]. Two recent studies explored the relation between resilience and burnout among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: they revealed that psychological resilience could have a mediating role between mental health outcomes and all burnout dimensions [ 17 , 20 ].…”

Impact of COVID-19 on Medicine Lecturers’ Mental Health and Emergency Remote Teaching Challenges

“…Positive psychological changes and post-traumatic growth, associated with psychological resilience, have also been reported when the COVID-19 pandemic was compared to Hurricane Katrina [ 21 ]. Psychological resilience [ 22 , 23 ]—understood as the ability to positively adapt to situations that can potentially cause stress and anxiety, such as COVID-19—and satisfaction with life can present themselves as protective variables.…”