Factors Contributing to Healthcare Professional Burnout During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Rapid Turnaround Global Survey

Abstract

Background Healthcare professionals (HCPs) on the front lines against COVID-19 may face increased workload and stress. Understanding HCPs' risk for burnout is critical to supporting HCPs and maintaining the quality of healthcare during the pandemic. Methods To assess exposure, perceptions, workload, and possible burnout of HCPs during the COVID-19 pandemic we conducted a cross-sectional survey. The main outcomes and measures were HCPs' self-assessment of burnout, indicated by a single item measure of emotional exhaustion, and other experiences and attitudes associated with working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings A total of 2,707 HCPs from 60 countries participated in this study. Fifty-one percent of HCPs reported burnout. Burnout was associated with work impacting household activities (RR = 1�57, 95% CI = 1�39-1�78, P<0�001), feeling pushed beyond training (RR = 1�32, 95% CI = 1�20-1�47, P<0�001), exposure to COVID-19 patients (RR = 1�18, 95% CI = 1�05-1�32, P = 0�005), and making life prioritizing decisions (RR = 1�16, 95% CI = 1�02-1�31, P = 0�03). Adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) was protective against burnout (RR = 0�88, 95% CI = 0�79-0�97, P = 0�01). Burnout was higher in high-income countries (HICs) compared to low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) (RR = 1�18; 95% CI = 1�02-1�36, P = 0�018).

Burnout among Portuguese healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Portuguese HCWs followed the trend of burnout seen in studies from other countries [18,36]. Our ndings show that more than half of HCWs experienced high levels of personal and work-related burnout, while most participants (64.6%) had low rates of client-related burnout.…”

COVID-19 burnout, COVID-19 stress and resilience: Initial psychometric properties of COVID-19 Burnout Scale

“…Stress may lead individuals to experience higher levels of burnout. Although limited, several studies have provided evidence regarding a positive association between stress and burnout related to the current pandemic among healthcare professionals (Morgantini et al, 2020;Sung et al, 2020;Talaee et al, 2020). However, evidence from those previous studies were on healthcare workers and thus their findings may not be replicable on the general public.…”

“…Studies on burnout related to COVID-19 have been mainly conducted on healthcare professionals. A study of healthcare professionals showed a significant positive relationship between stress and burnout (Morgantini et al, 2020). Another study investigating the relationship between burnout, anxiety, and stress disorders during COVID-19 pandemic indicated that doctors and nurses experienced high levels of mental health problems including burnout (Sung et al, 2020).…”

Symptoms of burnout in intensive care unit specialists facing the COVID-19 outbreak

“…In a systematic review of 13 studies (33,062 participants), the pooled prevalence of anxiety and depression was 23.2%, and 22.8%, respectively [ 11 ]. In a study of healthcare providers exposed to COVID-19 patients, half of them self-perceived burnout [ 12 ]. In another study of 376 healthcare professionals in Italy, more than 1 out of 3 showed a high score of emotional exhaustion, and 1 out of 4 reported high levels of depersonalization, while around 15% reported low levels of personal accomplishment [ 13 ].…”