Determinants of Emotional Exhaustion among Nursing Workforce in Urban Ghana: A Cross-sectional Study
Abstract AbstractBackground: The subject of emotional exhaustion in an organisation has become important because of the emerging trends in employment and its related problems. Unhealthy practice environment is a major threat in the incidence of emotional exhaustion among nurses; and organisational cultures that do not support its personnel has huge burnout costs. The study aimed at assessing rate of emotional exhaustion; determined factors that accounts for it and also ascertained the coping strategies used by nurses to overcome it in the Ghanaian health care setting. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a proportionate stratified sampling was used to draw a sample from five health facilities. A standardized questionnaire of Professional Practice Environment Scale of Nursing Work Index, Maslach Burnout Inventory and Coping Scale were used assess variables under study. The STROBE guidelines were followed in reporting this study.Results: Out of the 232 registered nurses studied, 91.1% of them reported experiencing moderate to high rate of emotional exhaustion. The practice environment of the nurses explained 39.6% of the variance in emotional exhaustion. Emotion-focused and problem-focused approaches were identified to be used by registered nurses to cope with emotional exhaustion. Conclusion: When appropriate and effective intervention are employed, emotional exhaustion will be reduce and this will enrich the effectiveness of quality care delivery to patients.