Assessment of Burnout in Healthcare Professionals Working at Faro Hospital Unit of University Hospital Center of Algarve

• Autor(a) principal: Melo-Ribeiro, Pedro
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Marta, Patrícia, Mota-Oliveira, Marco
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• DOI: 10.51338/rppsm.532
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.51338/rppsm.532
• topic: Burnout, Professional; Burnout, Psychological; Occupational Stress; Health Personnel; Portugal; Esgotamento Profissional; Esgotamento Psicológico; Profissionais de Saúde; Portugal; Stress Ocupacional

Introduction: Healthcare professionals are a particularly susceptible group to the development of burnout. There are few published studies evaluating the levels of burnout among healthcare professionals at Faro Hospital Unit of the University Hospital Center of Algarve. This study aims at assessing the prevalence of this syndrome, in its various definitions and dimensions, in the studied population and its different professional classes, as well as identifying sociodemographic or labor-related factors associated to higher levels of burnout. Methods: We conducted an observational, cross-sectional and quantitative study on healthcare professionals at Faro Hospital Unit. The collected data included sociodemographic information and details related to professional performance. We utilized the validated Portuguese versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Survey and the 23-QVS Stress Vulnerability Questionnaire. Results: The total of 200 responses comprises 88 nurses, 83 doctors, and 29 health technicians. The average age was 39 years, with a majority being female (75.5%). We identified a prevalence of burnout of 16.5% (nurses: 23.9%; doctors: 10.8%; health technicians: 10.3%). High levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced professional achievement were recognized in, respectively, 68.5%, 30% and 34.5% of professionals. The median response for 23-QVS was 39 points, with vulnerability to stress (>43 points) being found in 37% of the sample. Professionals with high levels of emotional exhaustion worked an average of 5 more hours a week. The increase in average working hours was associated with a higher risk of high emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Vulnerability to stress was linked to an increased risk of high levels of burnout dimensions. Being a nurse was associated with a higher risk of burnout and high levels of its dimensions. Conclusion: This study showed high levels of burnout in a considerable proportion of professionals, particularly in nurses. Medians of burnout dimensions corresponded to high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and moderate levels of reduced professional achievement, although this population did not score, in median, for vulnerability to stress. These results reinforce the importance of creating a consultation on burnout among healthcare professionals at Faro Hospital Unit of the University Hospital Center of Algarve.