Stress-Inducing Factors vs. the Risk of Occupational Burnout in the Work of Nurses and Paramedics (original) (raw)

Stress and Burnout in Health Professionals

Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, 2019

Occupational stress and burnout are a global epidemic that can cause severe negative effects on workers' physical and emotional health. Health professionals working in a hospital setting are especially at risk, due to the inherent characteristics of their work. Consequently, this study aimed to analyse the relationships between stress and burnout in health professionals working in a hospital in the North of Portugal. A convenience sample of 221 health professionals participated in this cross-sectional study and answered two instruments to assess stress and burnout at work. Results showed that stress dimensions, such as the precariousness of the contractual status, the intention to change services, work overload, stress from the work-home interface, relationships at work, leading training activities, and dealing with patients predicted the three dimensions of burnout-physical fatigue, cognitive weariness, and emotional exhaustion. Therefore, these findings contribute to increase the knowledge of health professional's mental conditions, and can be used to design and implement interventions to mitigate the effects of stress and burnout on these professionals.

The role of stress and level of burnout in job performance among nurses

Nurses' empathy for and connection with patients demonstrates core professional values which are essential but, consequently, attract certain factors capable of inducing stress. Studies of the roles and responsibilities associated with nursing have implicated multiple and conflicting demands which might not be without some resultant effects. However, little research has been conducted on these work characteristics in developing economies to determine how these might impact the nurse employees' performance. There is need for evidence-based empirical findings to facilitate improvement in healthcare services. This study examined stress and level of burnout among Nigerian nurses (n = 2245) who were selected using stratified random sampling. The participants were measured using an 'abridged measures booklet' adopted from the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS), Job Autonomy Questionnaire (JAQ), Questionnaire on Organisational Stress-Doetinchem (VOS-D) and Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS). The roles of work–home interference (WHI) and home–work interference (HWI), with respect to work characteristics and burnout (paying special attention to gender), were examined. Analyses using t-tests and linear regression showed no gender differences in burnout levels among Nigerian nurses, who experience medium to high levels of emotional exhaustion, medium levels of depersonalisation and high levels of personal accomplishment. WHI and HWI were found to mediate the relationship between work characteristics and burnout. The meditational relationship differs between genders. This study calls for further research into gender and burnout among the caring professions, especially in underdeveloped and developing economies of the world. Keywords: job performance, nurses and professional values, stress and burnout Introduction Background In terms of broad behavioural construct, the general taxonomy of job performance includes 'assessment of the performances, analysis of job demands, and method of job elements'. 1,2 A model of job performance that takes into account the multifaceted nature of the job and then separates the various elements subsumed under that rubric makes fundamental distinctions between:  aspects of work evaluation that are under the control of the worker (behaviours involved in job performance itself)  aspects that are not under the control of the worker (the consequences or effectiveness of job performance)  aspects that deal with relative costs (productivity)  aspects that show the value placed on each by the organisation (utility). The workers' behaviour, job effectiveness, productivity and utility have inherent consequences. Hence, factors capable of inducing stress might include catastrophes, major life changes and daily hassles, among others. 3,4 Catastrophes such as a sudden life-threatening calamity (or disaster) that push people to the outer limits of their coping capability are stressful. The death of a loved one, loss of a job, divorce, imprisonment, disability, or illness are also sources of stress. Daily hassles associated with relational disorders, unfriendly environments, poverty, academic pursuits and work-related issues also precipitate a great deal of stress. Work-related stress can

Burnout syndrome in nursing professionals from urgency and emergency services

Revista de Pesquisa: Cuidado é Fundamental Online, 2015

Objetivo: Analisar como os estudos científicos descrevem a síndrome de Burnout em profissionais de enfermagem de serviços de urgência e emergência. Métodos: Revisão integrativa de literatura realizada através das bases de dados BDENF, IBECS, LILACS, MEDLINE e SciELO, por meio dos descritores: esgotamento profissional and enfermagem. Das 3087 publicações selecionadas pelos descritores, apenas 11 artigos atenderam os critérios de inclusão e exclusão. Resultados: Dentre os artigos selecionados, 07 tratavam do estresse; 04 falavam da qualidade de vida e lazer; 01 abordava sobre os sintomas somáticos associados ao Burnout e 03 detalhavam sobre a síndrome de Burnout, abordando os fatores preditores e as dimensões sintomatológicas de acordo com o Maslach Burnout Inventory. Conclusão: Esse estudo é importante para que população, profissionais e gestores adquiram conhecimento acerca da síndrome, podendo contribuir para o desenvolvimento de estratégias de enfrentamento, que irão minimizar os ...

Work stress and burnout among physicians and nurses in Internal and Emergency Departments

Italian Journal of Medicine, 2017

Burnout has been defined as loss of enthusiasm for work, feelings of cynicism, and a low sense of personal accomplishment. Work environment and working conditions exposes the individual to numerous factors of stress. Stress-related diseases are defined as burnout. The increased workload, the repeated reorganizations in the hospital with iterative downsizing suggestions and budget cuts, without any perspective of career progression, with a social culture of bureaucracy and blame, resulting both in subtracting direct care time with patients and in the fear by healthcare professionals from the burden of their responsibility, are the backgrounds on which more and more frequent cases of burnout may develop. We need to establish homogenous standards all over the national territory on workload and about the procedures that have to be implemented for the prevention of burnout in our wards.

Perceived Stress and Burnout in Nurses: A Conceptual Approach

International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation

Nurses are backbone of the hospitals as they are working day and night for the well-being of the patients. They are working in multi-dimensional structural hospitals, that are associated with patient outcomes differently. Therefore, burnout among nurses at workplace is a universal problem. Nurses play a vital role in taking care of patients and managing the relatives of the patients in the absence of the doctors. Extended working hours for nurses are quite common in many hospitals, but there is very little consideration given to these long hours working, though it effects patients' care and the nurses wellbeing too. The poor nurse-patient ratio, lack of management support, short staffing, unanticipated changes in staffing with fluctuating needs of patients results in unpredictable length of actual shifts, but unfortunately, they are unable to express the consequences of these problems on them. While taking care of patients' physical, emotional, psychological needs, unfortunately nurses neglect their own physical and psychological well-being. Sometimes lack of respect and recognition for nurses affect consumers' health care as they are not able to provide the competent service because of their own state of mind. The personality factors which contribute to stress, need to be studied and the coping mechanism to overcome these stressors needs to be identified and brought into practice for the well-being of the nurses.

Determinants of occupational burnout among employees of the Emergency Medical Services in Poland

Occupational burnout is a multifaceted phenomenon and a problem often encountered among medical personnel. An example of such a group are workers of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The aim of the present study was to make an attempt to assess the level of job burnout among professionally active employees of the EMS and to compare the different occupational groups (paramedics, nurses of the system, doctors of the system) according to four analyzed factors. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional study was performed using an on-line questionnaire. Four factors impacting the level of burnout were analyzed: 1) attitude to work; 2) workload; 3) contact with the patient; 4) attitude to stress). The minimum possible result on the scale is 36 points and the maximum -252. Data were analysed by means of the Cronbach's alpha coefficient, the Spearman correlation, the Ramsey RESET test, the Chow test, VIF statistics. Results. The average score for occupational burnout was 131.0 points (SD ± 31.47). The tool's reliability measured by means of Cronbach's alpha was 0.910). Both nurses and doctors obtained higher results throughout the scale (β stand. 0.147 and 0.215). Significant differences were shown between the group working only in the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) teams and the other services (land EMS, emergency rooms, etc.) at the level of p < 0.000. Conclusions. EMS employees encounter varying degrees of threat by occupational burnout. Doctors working in the system are shown to have the highest level of burnout, while paramedics the lowest. Among all the jobs analyzed, the lowest level of occupational burnout has been demonstrated by employees of HEMS.

Stress, Burnout and Coping in HealthProfessionals: A Literature Review

2017

Context: Stress is a phenomenon inherent to life and it becomes inevitable, particularly in a professional context, having consequences on life quality. This is a disorder that affecting several people worldwide, namely health professionals, and is originated by various factors. Objective: The aims of this review article are studying, in the stress and burnout in health professionals in order to clarify the definition, identify the possible causes, related factors and identify the coping strategies. Methods: This review article was performed through data bases such as b-on, PubMed and books. It was used articles in Portuguese, English and Spanish and that corresponded to established descriptors. Results: Stress affects individuals from any age and professional area. When is caused by work complications is called of occupational stress. This phenomenon resultes of the action of an agent stressor that can be physical, social or even psychological. Other phenomenon is Burnout Syndrome,...