The Role of Resilience in Reducing Burnout: A Study with Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Although burnout is a widely studied topic, there is still much to learn about this symptom during a pandemic crisis like the one caused by COVID-19. Moreover, and according to the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory, the relation between personal resources and burnout is still an understudied topic. The main goal of this research is to understand the influence of mental resilience on the three dimensions of burnout-emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal achievement-among healthcare workers when exposed to a pandemic situation. A cross-sectional study was conducted based on the administration of an online survey to a sample of 196 healthcare workers (nurses and doctors) during the second wave of COVID-19 in Portugal. Hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Squares. The results show that during a pandemic situation, higher levels of resilience associated both with lower levels of emotional exhaustion (Emotional Exhaustion: −0.17; 95% Confidence Interval–CI: −0.38, 0.04) and depersonalization (Depersonalization: −0.17; 95% CI: −0.31, −0.03), and higher levels of personal achievement (Personal Achievement: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.40, 0.61). Resilience should be considered an important asset for reducing levels of burnout when facing highly stressing situations. The main contribution of this research is related to the role of personal resources as an inhibitor of negative consequences of job strain, such as burnout. The findings add new knowledge to the topic of fighting (not just understanding) burnout in deeply stressful situations, like the COVID-19 pandemic, reinforcing the importance of developing personal resources. Resilience skills may be developed, thus reducing the risk of burnout.

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Factors associated with emotional exhaustion in healthcare professionals involved in the COVID-19 pandemic: an application of the job demands-resources model

International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health ◽

10.1007/s00420-021-01669-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Serena Barello ◽

Rosario Caruso ◽

Lorenzo Palamenghi ◽

Tiziana Nania ◽

Federica Dellafiore ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Patient Engagement ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Job Demands ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Personal Resources ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Impact

Abstract Purpose The purpose of the present cross-sectional study is to investigate the role of perceived COVID-19-related organizational demands and threats in predicting emotional exhaustion, and the role of organizational support in reducing the negative influence of perceived COVID-19 work-related stressors on burnout. Moreover, the present study aims to add to the understanding of the role of personal resources in the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R) by examining whether personal resources—such as the professionals’ orientation towards patient engagement—may also strengthen the impact of job resources and mitigate the impact of job demands. Methods This cross-sectional study involved 532 healthcare professionals working during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. It adopted the Job-Demands-Resource Model to study the determinants of professional’s burnout. An integrative model describing how increasing job demands experienced by this specific population are related to burnout and in particular to emotional exhaustion symptoms was developed. Results The results of the logistic regression models provided strong support for the proposed model, as both Job Demands and Resources are significant predictors (OR = 2.359 and 0.563 respectively, with p < 0.001). Moreover, healthcare professionals’ orientation towards patient engagement appears as a significant moderator of this relationship, as it reduces Demands’ effect (OR = 1.188) and increases Resources’ effect (OR = 0.501). Conclusions These findings integrate previous findings on the JD-R Model and suggest the relevance of personal resources and of relational factors in affecting professionals’ experience of burnout.

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Burnout and Depression in Portuguese Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic—The Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18020636 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 636

Author(s):

Carla Serrão ◽

Ivone Duarte ◽

Luísa Castro ◽

Andreia Teixeira

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Workers ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Hierarchical Regression ◽

Psychological Resilience ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Work Related ◽

Mediating Role

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HCW) have been exposed to multiple psychosocial stressors. Resilience might protect employees from the negative consequences of chronic stress. The aim of this study was to explore the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between depression and burnout (personal, work-related, and client-related). A cross-sectional study was performed using an online questionnaire distributed via social networks. A survey was conducted comprising standardized measures of resilience (Resilience Scale-25 items), depression (subscale of Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 items), and burnout (Copenhagen Burnout Inventory Scale-19 items). A total of 2008 subjects completed the survey, and a hierarchical regression model was estimated for each burnout dimension. The results revealed that depression had not only a directed effect on personal, work- and client-related burnout, but also an indirect small effect on it through resilience. Psychological resilience played a partial mediating role between depression and all burnout dimensions. This partial mediation suggests that there may be other possible variables (e.g., social connection, self-compassion, gratitude, sense of purpose) that further explain the associations.

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Pharmacists’ Perception of the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182111541 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (21) ◽

pp. 11541

Author(s):

Tamara Al-Daghastani ◽

Odate Tadros ◽

Shereen Arabiyat ◽

Deema Jaber ◽

Husam AlSalamat

Keyword(s):

Online Survey ◽

Vaccine Development ◽

Primary Source ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Survey Study ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Protection Measures ◽

Second Wave

Objectives: To analyze the role of pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic, to measure pharmacists’ attitude toward COVID-19 safety measures (wearing masks, wearing gloves, isolation shield, good hygiene, etc.), and explore their perspectives regarding a second wave of the virus. Methods: This cross-sectional online survey study was conducted in Jordan during the COVID-19 outbreak in July 2020 to discuss Jordanian pharmacists’ awareness of safety at their workplace during the COVID-19 outbreak, their sources of information, and their predictions for COVID-19 vaccination. Results: The participants (n = 311) were all pharmacists mostly aged between 23–30 years old (45%) and female (83%). The primary source of information about COVID-19 was social networking (38.9%). Pharmacists were committed to social distancing (86.5%) and wearing masks (76.2%). They expressed levels of agreement to their role in decreasing COVID-19 spread (94.2%) and correcting false information (94.5%); they expressed levels of expectation toward concern about a second COVID-19 wave (83%) that would be more severe than the previous one (43.4%). Pharmacists expected that an influenza vaccine might be helpful in decreasing severity and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic (56.9%). Pharmacists expected COVID-19 vaccine development within 6 months of administering our study survey (84.9%) and that vaccination might be effective in preventing COVID-19 (93%) infection. Conclusion: Pharmacists expressed positive roles on COVID-19 spread through exemplary actions, self-commitment to protection measures, and public health awareness. Social media as a source of health information should be cautiously investigated, and pharmacists should always refer to evidence-based sources. The role of pharmacists is particularly important for the upcoming era of COVID-19 vaccination administration and awareness.

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Intention of Healthcare Workers to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine: A Cross-Sectional Survey in 10 Countries in Eastern Mediterranean Region

10.1101/2021.03.20.21253892 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yasir Ahmed Mohammed Elhadi ◽

Azza Mehanna ◽

Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi ◽

Mohammad Yasir Essar ◽

Haider M El Saeh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Region ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Online Survey ◽

Health Workers ◽

Eastern Mediterranean ◽

Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

To Receive

Background: Healthcare workers intention to be vaccinated is an important factor to be consider for successful COVID-19 vaccination programme. Our study aimed to understand the intention of health workers to receive COVID-19 vaccine and associated concerns across 10 countries in Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO). Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in January 2021 among healthcare workers using an online survey. A total of 2806 health workers (physicians, nurses and pharmacists) completed and returned the informed consent along with the questionnaire electronically. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS software package version 20.0. Results: More than half of the respondents (58.0%) intend to receive COVID-19 vaccine, even if the vaccination is not mandatory for them. On the other hand, 25.7% of respondents were not intending to undertake COVID-19 vaccination while 16.3 % answered undecided. The top three reasons for not intending to be vaccinated were unreliability of COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials (62.0%), fear of the side effects of the vaccine (45.3%), and that COVID-19 vaccine will not give immunity for a long period of time (23.1%). Conclusion: Overall, our study revealed suboptimal acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine among healthcare workers in the 10 countries in EMRO.

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Drinking to Cope Motivations as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Sexual Coercion Victimization and Alcohol Use Among College Women: The Role of Depressive Symptoms

Violence Against Women ◽

10.1177/1077801218796334 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (6) ◽

pp. 721-742 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sarah J. Ehlke ◽

Michelle L. Kelley

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Sexual Coercion ◽

Online Survey ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Drinking To Cope ◽

Regulation Strategies ◽

The Relationship

This cross-sectional study examined whether depressive symptoms strengthened the relationship between different forms of sexual coercion victimization and drinking to cope motivations, which was hypothesized to influence alcohol use. Participants were 214 female undergraduates who completed an online survey. Participants who experienced any lifetime sexual coercion and reported higher depressive symptoms were the most likely to report drinking to cope motivations, which in turn were associated with alcohol use. Depressive symptoms did not strengthen the relationship between specific forms of sexual coercion, drinking to cope, and alcohol use. Increasing emotion regulation strategies among sexual coercion victims may reduce drinking.

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Hospital Nurses in Comparison to Community Nurses: Motivation, Empathy, and the Mediating Role of Burnout

Canadian Journal of Nursing Research ◽

10.1177/0844562118809262 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 51 (2) ◽

pp. 72-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Asnat Dor ◽

Michal Mashiach Eizenberg ◽

Ofra Halperin

Keyword(s):

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Personal Accomplishment ◽

Hospital Nurses ◽

Strongly Correlated ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Community Clinic ◽

Mediating Role

Background Hospital nurses’ experience of their profession differs from that of community clinic nurses due to different working conditions and settings. Purpose To compare hospital nurses and community clinic nurses as to the mediating role of burnout on motivation and empathy. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 457 nurses completed four questionnaires: Demographic, Motivation Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire. Results Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization among hospital nurses were significantly higher than among community nurses. No significant differences were found in personal accomplishment, empathy, and motivation between the groups. Empathy and motivation were more strongly correlated among hospital nurses than among community nurses. Burnout was found to be a significant mediator between empathy and motivation in both groups but in each group by different burnout subscales. Conclusions To reduce burnout, leaders in the nursing field must enhance conditions in the hospital nurses’ work environment to lower levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization; community nurses should be guided to improve their attitudes toward their on-the-job performance to promote their personal accomplishment. Understanding the differences could direct policy makers’ desire toward enacting policies that accommodate these differences and focus on the needs of both groups of professionals.

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Burnout among Portuguese healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-020-09980-z ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ivone Duarte ◽

Andreia Teixeira ◽

Luísa Castro ◽

Sílvia Marina ◽

Carla Ribeiro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Workers ◽

Satisfaction With Life ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Professional Organizations ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Infected People ◽

Work Related ◽

High Workload

Abstract Background During COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) have had high workload and have been exposed to multiple psychosocial stressors. The aim of this study was to evaluate HCWs in terms of the relative contributions of socio-demographic and mental health variables on three burnout dimensions: personal, work-related, and client-related burnout. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed using an online questionnaire spread via social networks. A snowball technique supported by health care institutions and professional organizations was applied. Results A total of 2008 subjects completed the survey. Gender, parental status, marriage status, and salary reduction were found to be significant factors for personal burnout. Health problems and direct contact with infected people were significantly associated with more susceptibility to high personal and work-related burnout. Frontline working positions were associated with all three dimensions. Higher levels of stress and depression in HCWs were significantly associated with increased levels of all burnout dimensions. Higher levels of satisfaction with life and resilience were significantly associated with lower levels of all burnout dimensions. Conclusions All three burnout dimensions were associated with a specific set of covariates. Consideration of these three dimensions is important when designing future burnout prevention programs for HCWs.

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Prevalence of burnout among forest workers in Mazandaran, Iran

Journal of Forest Science ◽

10.17221/111/2015-jfs ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 63 (No. 2) ◽

pp. 70-74

Author(s):

Lotfalian Majid ◽

Sheikhmoonesi Fatemeh ◽

Sabzi Mahbobeh ◽

Abaspour Mahbobeh ◽

Peyrov Saba

Keyword(s):

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Personal Accomplishment ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Mazandaran Province ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Staff Burnout ◽

Lower Education Level

Burnout imposes consequences and costs on the organization and employees, such as frequent job and workplace replacement, frequent absenteeism and permissions, and reduced work quantity and quality. So it seems necessary to perform institutional interventions to reduce the staff burnout. The aim of the present study was to determine prevalence of burnout among forest workers in Mazandaran. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of workers in the forests of Mazandaran province. Result showed that a significant proportion of workers had burnout in terms of the three dimensions of Maslach Burnout Inventory. 46.90% of respondents suffered from high emotional exhaustion, 43.36% had high depersonalization and 49.56% of respondents suffered from low personal accomplishment. In this study it was shown that people with bachelor or higher degree (compared to people with a lower education level) were in better conditions in terms of all three dimensions of burnout; they had higher personal accomplishment and higher emotional exhaustion and lower depersonalization. It was shown that burnout is highly prevalent among chainsaw operators and skidder drivers.

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Are male nurses sexually harassed? A cross-sectional study in the Greek Health System

BMC Nursing ◽

10.1186/s12912-021-00656-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Panagiotis Papantoniou

Keyword(s):

Sexual Harassment ◽

Multiple Regression ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Male Nurses ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Regression Analyses ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Unwanted Sexual Attention

Abstract Background The #MeToo and #Times Up movements have put a global spotlight on the phenomenon of sexual harassment in healthcare. Yet, most studies have explored sexual harassment among female professionals. This study departs from current research practices and investigates the frequency of sexual harassment in male nurses working in the Greek NHS and the reasons for not reporting their experiences. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) to collect data from 507 male nurses working in Greece's various settings during October and February 2021. The electronic survey was sent to male nurses (n=3,091 registered with the Hellenic Association of Nurses. Survey items were consent form, demographics, three-dimensions of sexual harassment, silencing and negative consequences. Questions were measured using five-point Likert scales, binary scale and multiple-choice questions. ANOVA and T-tests were used to investigate whether specific groups more frequently dealt with sexual harassment. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate the association between independent variables (sexually harassing behaviours) and the dependent variable (participants' negative physical, mental, and job-related outcomes). Results 40% of male nurses have experienced sexual harassment at least once in their working lives, and the most common form of sexual harassment faced was gender harassment, followed by unwanted sexual attention. Male doctors and male nurses were the most common perpetrators. Private and younger male nurses with up to 5 years of experience experienced more frequent sexual harassment. 30% did not report sexual harassment due to the fear that no one would believe them, and because of beliefs, no action would be taken against the wrongdoer. Multiple regression analyses showed that unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion were associated with physical and job-related outcomes. Cronbach Alpha was 0.91. Conclusion A high proportion of male nurses have experienced sexual harassment during their careers. Being younger with limited working experience and working in the private sector were positively associated with sexual harassment. Policymakers and health managers should focus on sexual harassment prevention strategies and report-enabling policies.

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The Role of Perceived Organizational Support in Mental Health of Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.707293 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Andreas Chatzittofis ◽

Anastasia Constantinidou ◽

Artemios Artemiadis ◽

Kyriaki Michailidou ◽

Maria N. K. Karanikola

Keyword(s):

Mental Status ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

Organizational Support ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Perceived Organizational Support ◽

Mental Distress ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional

Background: Data support the link between the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and mental distress in healthcare workers (HCWs). Although previous studies have documented the association between organizational policies and employees' psychological and mental status, there is still scant evidence regarding the effect of perceived organizational support (POS) on mental distress in HCWs during the pandemic.Aims: The present study aimed to assess the association between POS and mental distress in HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The role of POS in stress, depressive and trauma symptoms in HCWs was investigated.Methods: This was an online cross-sectional study in 424 HCWs. Data were collected during the first wave of the pandemic, and included demographics, a 7-item questionnaire assessing POS, the “Patient Health Questionnaire” assessing depressive symptoms, the “Impact of Events Scale Revised,” measuring post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and the “Perceived Stress Scale” assessing perceived stress.Results: The mean POS score was 3.33 [standard deviation:1.85; range 0–7]. Younger (p < 0.001), less experienced (p < 0.001), female (p = 0.002), and non-physician HCWs (p = 0.031) were more likely to report lower self-perceived organizational support than older, male, more experienced physicians. Self-perceived organizational support was significantly and negatively associated with and self-assessed intensity of stress, depressive and traumatic symptoms, after adjusting for putative confounders (p < 0.001).Discussion: Self-perceived organizational support was significantly associated with HCWs' self-assessed mental status during the pandemic. Organizational support and mental distress should be addressed simultaneously in HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic to increase resilience among them.

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