Burnout and job satisfaction of nursing staff in a South African acute mental health setting

The impact of self-reported burnout and work-related quality of life on nurses' intention to leave the profession during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

The challenges of maintaining an effective and sustainable healthcare workforce include the recruitment and retention of skilled nurses. COVID-19 exacerbated these challenges, but they persist beyond the pandemic. We explored the impact of work-related quality of life and burnout on reported intentions to leave a variety of healthcare professions including nursing. We collected data at five time-points from November 2020 to February 2023 via an online survey. The validated measures used included the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and Work-Related Quality of Life (WRQoL) scale; with subscales for Job-Career Satisfaction, General Wellbeing, Control at work, Stress at work, Working conditions, and Home-work interface. Our findings showed that 47.6% of nursing respondents (n = 1780) had considered changing their profession throughout the study period, with the 30-39-year age group most likely to express intentions to leave. Regression analysis reveale that for WRQoL, lower general wellbeing and job-career satisfaction scores predicted intentions to leave when controlling for demographic variables (p < 0.001). When burnout was added to the regression model, both work-related and client-related burnout were predictive of intentions to leave (p < 0.001). These findings highlighted that significant numbers of nurses considered leaving their profession during and shortly after the pandemic and the need for interventions to improve nurses' wellbeing and reduce burnout to improve their retention.

Job satisfaction among health professionals in a District of North West province, South Africa

Background

Job satisfaction has become an area of relevance and debate in public health as it is directly linked to staff absenteeism, retention and turnover of the workforce and as such, influences the organisational commitment of the workers and the quality of health services provided. It is therefore essential to discern what drives healthcare professionals to remain working in the public health sector.

Aim

This study aimed to determine job satisfaction and its associated factors among healthcare professionals.

Setting

North-West province South Africa.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 244 healthcare professionals of different categories in three district hospitals. A self-administered structured questionnaire with 38 questions to measure job satisfaction was used to collect data. The chi-square test was used to compare groups, and a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

Overall, 62% of the participants were not satisfied with their job. The most common factors that participants were not satisfied with include job security (52%), standard of care (57%), opportunity to develop (59%), payment or wages (76%), workload (78%) and working environment (89%). Job satisfaction was significantly influenced by age, job category and years of service.

Conclusions

The predictors of job satisfaction include age, category of employees and years of service. Interventions are required to improve the degree of job satisfaction among health care professionals.

Contribution

Findings of this study will assist informing plans that are geared towards enhancing healthcare worker job satisfaction, retention and consequent health systems strengthening.

"Why Am I Even Here If I Can't Save the Patients?": The Frontline Healthcare Workers' Experience of Burnout during COVID-19 Pandemic in Mthatha, South Africa

INTRODUCTION

Globally, the high prevalence of burnout in healthcare workers (HCWs) is of the utmost concern. Burnout is a state of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment. While the 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) exacerbated the burnout prevalence among HCWs, limited studies have explored this phenomenon using qualitative methodologies in the Eastern Cape Province and South Africa generally. This study explored how frontline healthcare workers experienced burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mthatha Regional Hospital.

METHODS

Ten face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with non-specialized medical doctors and nurses who directly cared for COVID-19-infected patients during the pandemic in Mthatha Regional Hospital (MRH). In-depth interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were managed through NVIVO 12 software before being thematically analyzed using Colaizzi's analysis method.

RESULTS

Four main themes emerged from the analysis. These themes were burnout manifestation (emotional strain, detachment and irritability, uncertainty-induced fear, and anxiety, physical exhaustion, yet, low job accomplishment, dread and professional responsibility), precursors of burnout (occupational exposure to high mortality, staff shortages, elongated high patient volume and workload, disease uncertainties and consistent feeling of grief), alleviating factors of burnout (time off work, psychologist intervention, periods of low infection rate and additional staff), and the last theme was every cloud has a silver lining (improved infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, learning to be more empathetic, the passion remains and confidence grows).

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a rapid change in the work environment of healthcare workers who are the backbone of efficient healthcare services, thereby rendering them vulnerable to increased burnout risks. This study provides strategic information for policymakers and managers on developing and strengthening welfare policies to promote and protect frontline health workers' well-being and work functioning.

Factors limiting presence: Perceptions of nurses working in a public psychiatric hospital

BACKGROUND

 Presence is a therapeutic skill that has a healing effect not only on the mental healthcare user but also the nurse. There was a need to explore nurses' perceptions on factors that limit presence, especially in a public psychiatric hospital in a rural province such as North West, South Africa, where there are limited resources and nurses need to rely heavily on their therapeutic use of self.

OBJECTIVES

 To report on nurses' perceptions of factors limiting presence when working in a public psychiatric hospital.

METHOD

 A qualitative descriptive inquiry was applied, with purposive sampling. Semistructured individual interviews were held with 10 nurses. Thematic data analysis was applied.

RESULTS

 Intrapersonal factors that were found to limit presence arose from the view that mental healthcare users (MHUs) are difficult to engage with; the tendency to view 'good care' primarily as physical care with limited insight into presence was also recognised. Interpersonal and transpersonal factors related to difficulties in communicating with MHUs and in the work environment.

CONCLUSION

 Addressing factors that limit presence were found to require courage, the overcoming of interpersonal distance and a transformational process.Contribution: This article contributes important insights that can be used by nurse leaders to promote the practice of presence to improve the quality of psychiatric nursing care in developing contexts, such as a rural province in South Africa.

Investigation of academic motivation in medical students and its association with clinical education quality, academic achievement, and academic burnout

BACKGROUND

Improving the quality of clinical education requires continuous review of the current situation, identifying strengths, and correcting weaknesses. This study aimed to investigate the association between academic motivation with quality of clinical education, academic achievement, and burnout.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study was done in 2020 on all of the 140 internship students of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, using the consensus method. The data collection tools included standard questionnaires such as Herman's Academic Motivation, Clinical Education Quality, Maslach Modified Academic Burnout, Pham and Taylor Academic Achievement, Satisfaction of Educational Welfare Facilities. Data were analyzed using SPSS (ver. 22) software and descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentage of frequency), Spearman rank, correlation coefficient and Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis statistical tests. P < 0.05 is considered statistically significant.

FINDINGS

The mean ± SD of age was 25.68±2.03. 86 (61.4%) of the internship were female and 87 (62.1%) were single. Mean± SD of academic motivation and quality of clinical education were 81.51± 8.73 and 28/99± 11/52 respectively. Also, the Mean± SD of academic achievement and academic burnouts were 147/61± 14/94 and 42/37± 10/42 respectively.

RESULTS

Academic motivation had a meaningful and positive relationship with academic achievement and satisfaction of welfare facilities but a negative correlation with academic burnout. Also, academic achievement and academic burnout had a negative correlation but a positive correlation was seen between the quality of clinical education and satisfaction of welfare facilities.

CONCLUSION

Considered the results, recommended improving welfare education facilities by using up-to-date training aids, upgrading educational infrastructure, and employ young staff in the education office. For improving the quality of clinical education, appropriate educational methods, conducting developmental assessments continuously, using simulated environments, and improving students' motivation.

Work environment, resilience, burnout, intent to leave during COVID pandemic among nurse leaders: A cross-sectional study

AIMS

The aims of this work are to (1) investigate the work environment, resilience, burnout, and turnover intention and (2) examine how work environment and personal resilience impact burnout and turnover intention among nurse leaders in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced tremendous stressors to nurse leaders, for example, managing the complex staffing situation while balancing patients' and family's needs.

METHODS

During May to September 2021, an electronic survey was sent out to nurse leaders in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, and surrounding areas.

RESULTS

Fifty-six respondents were included in the study. The composite score of the work environment measure was moderately to highly related to resilience [ρ (rho) = .59] and burnout [ρ = -.63 to -.68] but had small association to intent to leave [ρ = -.30]. The resilience was highly correlated to burnout [ρ = -.53 to -.59] and moderately associated to intent to leave [ρ = -.32].

CONCLUSIONS

A better work environment for nurse leaders is related to higher resilience, lower burnout, and lower turnover intention. Resilience impacts burnout and turnover intention among nurse leaders.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Health care organizations and stakeholders should implement effective strategies to improve the work environment, which could lead to enhanced resilience, reduced burnout, and lower turnover intention of their nurse leaders especially during and following this pandemic.

Job satisfaction and burnout of psychiatric nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in China—the moderation of family support

Purpose

The study aimed at investigating the state of psychiatric nurses’ job satisfaction, job burnout, and the moderating effect of family support between them in China during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and methods

Online self-report questionnaires were distributed and 212 psychiatric nurses participated in the research. Pearson correlation analysis, multiple stepwise regression analysis, and simple slope test were used for data analysis.

Results

The results showed that the status of their job satisfaction (53.67 ± 10.72) and burnout (33.62 ± 13.84) did not reach a satisfactory level and job satisfaction had a significant negative impact on job burnout. Meanwhile, family support played a negative moderating role between the two variables.

Conclusion

Psychiatric nurses suffered from job burnout in China during the COVID-19. Family support could have a counterproductive effect when the nurses were experiencing decreasing job satisfaction. It gave suggestions to the medical institutions and the government to improve the psychological well-being of the psychiatric nurses and even of all the medical staff.

Empathy, Burnout, and Attitudes towards Mental Illness among Spanish Mental Health Nurses

Mental health nurses, together with psychiatrists, are the healthcare professionals who display the highest levels of empathy and the best attitudes towards patients with mental disorders. However, burnout is a common problem among these professionals. The aim of our study is to describe the association between empathy, burnout, and attitudes towards patients with mental disorders among mental health nurses in Spain. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used involving a sample of 750 specialist nurses working in mental health facilities in Spain. An intentional, non-probability, non-discriminative, exponential snowball sampling method was used. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Community Attitudes towards Mental Illness Inventory were used to measure the study variables. A positive correlation was observed between empathy and all the study variables, with the exception of the personal accomplishment dimension of burnout and the social restrictiveness and authoritarianism dimensions of attitudes towards mental illness, where a negative relation was observed. Our findings suggest that empathy is associated with an increase in positive attitudes towards patients with mental disorders, decreasing associated stigma, but did not act as a protective factor against burnout in the study sample.

Post-Traumatic Stress and Coping Strategies of South African Nurses during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Prior to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the South African healthcare system was already under severe strain due to amongst others, a lack of human resources, poor governance and management, and an unequal distribution of resources among provinces and between the public and private healthcare sectors. At the center of these challenges are nurses, the backbone of the healthcare system, and the first point of call for most patients in the country. This research investigated post-traumatic stress and coping strategies of nurses during the second wave of COVID-19 in the country. A structured self-administered questionnaire captured the biographic characteristics, perceived risk factors for COVID-19, and views on infection control of 286 nurses Data were subjected to descriptive and binomial logistic regression analyses. More than four in every 10 nurses screened positive for higher levels of post-traumatic disorder (PTSD). Self-reported risk for contracting COVID-19 mainly centered on being a health worker and patients’ non-adherence to infection prevention guidelines. Unpreparedness to manage COVID-19 patients, poorer health, and avoidant coping were associated with PTSD. Nurses voiced a need for emotional support and empathy from managers. Emotional, psychological, and debriefing intervention sessions that focus on positive coping strategies to actively address stress are recommended.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of College Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has been spreading and brought unprecedented psychological pressure on people across the entire globe since December 2019.

OBJECTIVES

To synthesize the existing evidence of the prevalence of mental health status during the epidemic and provide the basis for mental health education.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The literature search was conducted in nine databases from December 2019 to October 2020. The risk of bias for each study was assessed, and the random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate the prevalence of specific mental health problems. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO with the registration number CRD42020208619.

RESULTS

About 27 studies were included in the analysis with a total of 706,415 participants combined, and 14 mental health problems were gathered. Meta-analysis showed that the prevalence of depression was 39% (95% CI: 27-51%) and that of anxiety was 36% (95% CI: 26-46%). Subgroup analysis indicated that the prevalence of depression and anxiety varied among nations and due to the survey date. The prevalence of depression (60%, 95% CI: 46-74%) and anxiety (60%, 95% CI: 46-74%) in non-Chinese college students was higher than those in Chinese college students (26%, 95% CI: 21-30% and 20%, 95% CI: 14-26%). The proportion of depression (54%, 95% CI: 40-67%) and anxiety (37%, 95% CI: 26-48%) was higher after March 1 than before it (21%, 95% CI: 16-25% and 19%, 95% CI: 13-25%).

CONCLUSIONS

The meta-analysis results presented that the prevalence of depression (39%) or anxiety (36%) among college students greatly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the mental health of college students is affected by the nations and the survey date. It was necessary to take measures to reduce mental health risks during the pandemic.