Prevalence of Burnout in Healthcare Workers of Tertiary-Care Hospitals during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey from Two Central European Countries

Ladislav Štěpánek, Marie Nakládalová, Magdaléna Janošíková, Romana Ulbrichtová, Viera Švihrová, Henrieta Hudečková, Eliška Sovová, Milan Sova and Jiří Vévoda ()
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Ladislav Štěpánek: Department of Occupational Medicine, University Hospital Olomouc and Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University Olomouc, I. P. Pavlova 6, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Marie Nakládalová: Department of Occupational Medicine, University Hospital Olomouc and Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University Olomouc, I. P. Pavlova 6, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Magdaléna Janošíková: Department of Occupational Medicine, University Hospital Olomouc and Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University Olomouc, I. P. Pavlova 6, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Romana Ulbrichtová: Department of Public Health, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mala Hora 11149/4B, 036 01 Martin, Slovakia
Viera Švihrová: Department of Public Health, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mala Hora 11149/4B, 036 01 Martin, Slovakia
Henrieta Hudečková: Department of Public Health, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mala Hora 11149/4B, 036 01 Martin, Slovakia
Eliška Sovová: Department of Exercise Medicine and Cardiovascular Rehabilitation, University Hospital Olomouc and Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University Olomouc, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Milan Sova: Department of Pulmonary Diseases and Tuberculosis, University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Jiří Vévoda: Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Palacký University in Olomouc, Hněvotínská 976/3, 775 15 Olomouc, Czech Republic

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: COVID-19 has led to an unprecedented strain on healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to determine the prevalence of burnout in hospital employees during a prolonged pandemic-induced burden on healthcare systems. An online survey among employees of a Czech and Slovak university hospital was conducted between November 2021 and January 2022, approximately when the incidence rates peaked in both countries. The Maslach Burnout Inventory—Human Services Survey was applied. We obtained 807 completed questionnaires (75.1% from Czech employees, 91.2% from HCWs, 76.2% from women; mean age of 42.1 ± 11 years). Burnout in emotional exhaustion (EE) was found in 53.2%, depersonalization (DP) in 33%, and personal accomplishment (PA) in 47.8% of respondents. In total, 148 (18.3%) participants showed burnout in all dimensions, 184 (22.8%) in two, and 269 (33.3%) in at least one dimension. Burnout in EE and DP (65% and 43.7%) prevailed in physicians compared to other HCWs (48.6% and 28.8%). Respondents from COVID-19-dedicated units achieved burnout in the EE and DP dimensions with higher rates than non-frontline HCWs (58.1% and 40.9% vs. 49.9% and 27.7%). Almost two years of the previous overloading of healthcare services, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in the relatively high prevalence of burnout in HCWs, especially in physicians and frontline HCWs.

Keywords: burnout; healthcare worker; COVID-19; pandemic; emotional exhaustion; depersonalization; personal accomplishment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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