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

Yoshito Nishimura, Tomoko Miyoshi, Asuka Sato, Kou Hasegawa, Hideharu Hagiya, Yoshinori Kosaki and Fumio Otsuka
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Yoshito Nishimura: Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 7008558, Japan
Tomoko Miyoshi: Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 7008558, Japan
Asuka Sato: Center for Graduate Medical Education, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama 7008558, Japan
Kou Hasegawa: Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 7008558, Japan
Hideharu Hagiya: Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 7008558, Japan
Yoshinori Kosaki: Center for Education in Medicine and Health Sciences, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 7008558, Japan
Fumio Otsuka: Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 7008558, Japan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-10

Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed a significant challenge to the modern healthcare system and led to increased burnout among healthcare workers (HCWs). We previously reported that HCWs who engaged in COVID-19 patient care had a significantly higher prevalence of burnout (50.0%) than those who did not in November 2020 (period 1). We performed follow-up surveys in HCWs in a Japanese national university hospital, including basic demographics, whether a participant engaged in care of COVID-19 patients in the past 2 weeks, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory in February 2021 (period 2) and May 2021 (period 3). Periods 1 and 3 were amid the surges of COVID-19 cases, and period 2 was a post-surge period with a comparatively small number of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. Response rates to the surveys were 33/130 (25.4%) in period 1, 36/130 (27.7%) in period 2, and 56/162 (34.6%) in period 3, respectively. While no consistent tendency in the prevalence of burnout based on variables was observed throughout the periods, the prevalence of burnout tends to be higher in periods 1 and 3 in those who engaged in COVID-19 patient care in the last 2 weeks (50.0%, 30.8%, 43.1% in period 1, 2, and 3, respectively). Given the prolonged pandemic causing stigmatization and hatred against HCWs leading to increased prevalence of burnout, high-level interventions and supports are warranted.

Keywords: coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); pandemic; burnout; prevention; intention to leave (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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