Predictors of Burnout in Hospital Health Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak in South Korea

Chang-Ho Jihn, Bokyoung Kim and Kue Sook Kim
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Chang-Ho Jihn: Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Korea
Bokyoung Kim: Department of Nursing, Catholic Kwandong University, Gangneung 25601, Korea
Kue Sook Kim: Health Care Center, Seoul Metropolitan Dong Bu Hospital, Seoul 02584, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-17

Abstract: This study aimed to identify the factors that influence the components of burnout—emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and personal accomplishment (PA)—among hospital health workers, including doctors and nurses, during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed 200 healthcare workers’ responses to the Employee Health Promotion Survey conducted at a general hospital in Seoul with over 200 hospital beds. The questionnaire included items about COVID-19-related burnout and its influencing factors. We performed three different multiple regression analyses using EE, DP, and PA as the dependent variables. The results show that sex, marital status, workload of treating suspected COVID-19 patients, fear of COVID-19 infection, anxiety, and depression predicted EE. The predictors of DP were job category, consecutive months of work in the current department, satisfaction with work environment, anxiety, and depression. The predictors of PA were the workload of directly interacting with patients, socioeconomic status, and job stress. For EE and DP, burnout was found to be worse in doctors and nurses than in other health workers; moreover, burnout was worse among nurses than among doctors across all three aspects of burnout. The findings can be used to establish tailored policies to address each burnout component.

Keywords: burnout; COVID-19; hospital health worker; doctor; nurse; emotional exhaustion; depersonalization; personal accomplishment; Maslach burnout inventory (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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