Burnout of Healthcare Workers amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Japanese Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic has drastically changed how we live and work. Amid the prolonged pandemic, burnout of the frontline healthcare professionals has become a significant concern. We conducted a cross-sectional survey study to provide data about the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and the prevalence of burnout in healthcare professionals in Japan. Healthcare workers in a single Japanese national university hospital participated in the survey, including basic demographics, whether a participant engaged in care of COVID-19 patients in the past 2 weeks and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Of those, 25.4% fully answered the survey; 33.3% were doctors and 63.6% were nurses, and 36.3% engaged in care of COVID-19 patients in the past 2 weeks. Compared to those belonging to General Medicine, those in Emergency Intensive Care Unit were at higher risk of burnout (odds ratio (OR), 6.7; 95% CI, 1.1–42.1; p = 0.031). Of those who engaged in care of COVID-19 patients, 50% reported burnout while 6.1% did not (OR 8.5, 95% CI; 1.3–54.1; p = 0.014). The burnout of healthcare workers is a significant concern amid the pandemic, which needs to be addressed for sustainable healthcare delivery.

One Year on: An Overview of Singapore’s Response to COVID-19—What We Did, How We Fared, How We Can Move Forward

“…A substantial number of the articles explored in detail how HCWs, patients, and the general community faced challenges such as burnout in particular, as well as explored suitable coping measures. This is consistent with the articles published overseas, which also found significant burnout amongst healthcare workers [504][505][506][507] and adverse psychological effects on the rest of the community [508][509][510][511]. The articles published locally have detailed various responses to this situation, such as a digital MyCare application [417], a psychological preparedness kit for HCWs [409], and peer support services [430], which demonstrate that our community has been able to anticipate and react quickly to the psychological impact of this pandemic.…”

Burnout of Healthcare Workers Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Follow-Up Study

“…Participants included physicians, nurses, pharmacists, clinical engineers, and physical therapists in Okayama University Hospital (OUH; a tertiary-care Japanese national university hospital with more than 800 beds). Before the initial cross-sectional study that we previously reported [ 8 ], we conducted a power analysis for two proportions to estimate a sample size required to detect the significant differences between the prevalence of burnout among those engaged in the COVID-19 patient care in the past 2 weeks compared to those who did not. We defined the prevalence of burnout in those who engaged in COVID-19 care in the period as 70% and those who did not as 20% in the analysis based on the previous studies [ 12 , 19 , 20 ].…”

“…While burnout syndrome is not included in the list of mental disorders in the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases, a study suggested its association with major mental disorders such as insomnia, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic symptoms [ 7 ]. We previously reported that HCWs who engaged in care of COVID-19 patients had significantly higher burnout rates (50.0%) than those who did not, and those working in the intensive care unit were more likely to have experienced burnout than those in floors [ 8 ]. The study was done amid the third surge of the COVID-19 cases in Japan in November 2020.…”

Burnout in Hospital-Based Healthcare Workers during COVID-19

“…Evidence is consistent across diverse settings that healthcare professionals in intensive care settings have been at higher risk during the pandemic compared to other healthcare settings. [106][107][108][109][110] Working in a COVID-19 unit or hospital or in an emergency department has also been associated with elevated burnout. 108,111,112 During the pandemic, higher levels of burnout have consistently been reported in nurses than in other hospital-based healthcare professionals in Canada and internationally.…”