Burnout, Depression, and Anxiety Levels among Healthcare Workers Serving Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Burnout in healthcare workers (HCWs) is defined as a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion that results from unmanaged, excessive, and long-term workplace stressors. This study aims to assess the prevalence of burnout and the levels of anxiety and depression among HCWs who primarily work with children who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted utilizing the Arabic version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS), Patient Health Questionnaire for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression (PHQ-9). Among the 381 participants working in autism centers, the majority were young Saudi females (326) working full-time as specialists in the private sector with less than five years of experience. The HCWs’ overall mean scores on the three Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) subscales: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and personal accomplishment (PA) were 62%, 23.7%, and 76.5%, respectively. A total of 51.4% of HCWs reported moderate to high anxiety levels on GAD-7, and 47.8% showed moderate to very high levels of depression on PHQ-9. The mean perceived EE converged significantly but negatively on their overall mean perceived satisfaction with AWS (p-value < 0.001), demonstrating that greater emotional fatigue predicts less satisfaction with their work. The PA scores correlated significantly and positively with their overall mean satisfaction with their AWS score (p-value < 0.001). Considering sociodemographic variables, HCWs aged between 20–29 years have significantly lower mean PA scores than HCWs aged thirty and older (p = 0.007). Also, male HCWs perceived significantly higher work-related DP than females. More research is required to determine the nature of variables that contribute to burnout, depression, and anxiety in HCWs helping children with ASD.

Burnout, Organizational Justice, Workload, and Emotional Regulation among Medical and Non-Medical Personnel Working in Romanian Healthcare Units

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Health care outcomes due to incidents of burnout in Asia: A literature review

“…Incidence of burnout has a negative impact on patient health as well as cause low level patient satisfaction during visits [16; 17; 18; 13; 19; 20]. In addition, on the findings of a research journal review that conducted by Alenezi [18] and Tsai [21] stated burnout manifests in anxiety and depression as well associated with well-being and poor performance. Neuroticism or unstable emotions are risk factors for depression [20].…”

Burnout through the Lenses of Equity/Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Disabled People: A Scoping Review

“…Most false positives reflected the theme of burnout by others due to dealing with disabled people, depicting disabled people as the cause of burnout. For example, some titles of articles include: "Investigation of the relationship between burnout, life satisfaction and quality of life in parents of children with disabilities" [238] (p. 679), "Burnout, Depression, and Anxiety Levels among Healthcare Workers Serving Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder" [239] (p. 1), "Measuring staff burnout in a community home" [240] (p. 51), "Level of burnout among teachers of students with learning disabilities in Riyadh" [241] (p. 260), "The effects of social, familial, and economic stress on social workers working with disabled individuals" [242] (p. 1207), "Reducing burnout in mothers with an intellectually disabled child: An education programme" [243] (p. 2552), "Burnout in providers serving individuals with ASD: The impact of the workplace" [244] (p. 1), and "Comparative Study of Teachers in Regular Schools and Teachers in Specialized Schools in France, Working with Students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder: Stress, Social Support, Coping Strategies and Burnout" [245] (p. 2874).…”