Nurses' burnout and associated risk factors during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

Aims To examine the nurses' burnout and associated risk factors during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Design We followed the Cochrane criteria and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analysis guidelines for this systematic review and meta‐analysis. Data Sources PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Cochrane COVID‐19 registry, CINAHL and pre‐print services (medRχiv and PsyArXiv) were searched from January 1 to November 15, 2020 and we removed duplicates. Review Methods We applied a random effect model to estimate pooled effects since the heterogeneity between results was very high. Results Sixteen studies, including 18,935 nurses met the inclusion criteria. The overall prevalence of emotional exhaustion was 34.1%, of depersonalization was 12.6% and of lack of personal accomplishment was 15.2%. The main risk factors that increased nurses' burnout were the following: younger age, decreased social support, low family and colleagues readiness to cope with COVID‐19 outbreak, increased perceived threat of Covid‐19, longer working time in quarantine areas, working in a high‐risk environment, working in hospitals with inadequate and insufficient material and human resources, increased workload and lower level of specialized training regarding COVID‐19. Conclusion Nurses experience high levels of burnout during the COVID‐19 pandemic, while several sociodemographic, social and occupational factors affect this burnout. Impact We found that burnout among nurses is a crucial issue during the COVID‐19 pandemic. There is an urgent need to prepare nurses to cope better with COVID‐19 pandemic. Identification of risk factors for burnout could be a significant weapon giving nurses and health care systems the ability to response in a better way against the following COVID‐19 waves in the near future.

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

“…A systematic review and meta-analysis, published in March 2021 [44], identified 16 studies on nurses working with COVID-19 patients. The estimated prevalence of EE was 34.1% (95% CI = 22.5-46.6%), of DP 12.6% (95% CI = 6.9-19.7%), and of LPA 15.2% (95% CI = 1.4-39.8%).…”

The Burden of Burnout among Healthcare Professionals of Intensive Care Units and Emergency Departments during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

“…Finally, this review found several variables associated with burnout. Some sociodemographic variables such as age and female gender have been often found to be associated with burnout, both before the pandemic among ICU/ED workers [34] and during the pandemic among general HCWs [46]. Moreover, age and gender have been associated with many other mental conditions among general HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic [41,42,47].…”

“…Several studies conducted before the pandemic outlined that one of the most important determinants of burnout is represented by workload and job demand [19,34,37]. In the context of the pandemic, workload and job demand have possibly increased and had an impact on the health of general HCWs, concerning both burnout [39,46,49] and other mental issues [50]. Last, we outlined other variables that are more specific for the COVID-19 and other outbreaks and have been reported in other reviews about general HCWs and mental health, such as shortage in resources (e.g., personal protective equipment) [46], perceived threat of COVID-19 [46], and stigma from the community [48].…”

A year in review: sleep dysfunction and psychological distress in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Furthermore, in a recent systematic review of sixteen studies, including 18,935 nurses, the overall prevalence of emotional exhaustion was 34%, depersonalization was 12% and lack of personal accomplishment was 15%. [ 93 ]. Mental health problems were also found to correlate with more frequent burnout which in turn may lead to increased rates of psychological difficulties, substance use and self-harm among HCWs [ 66 ].…”

“…Various studies have mentioned several other associated social and occupational factors that affect burnout levels including increased workload, inadequate PPE and training, lack of medical resources, working longer hours and in high-risk environment, worries about self-contamination and spread of infection, frequent or drastic changes in ways of working and policies, conflicting information, decreased social support, isolation and community stigma [ 83 , 93 ].…”