Professional Burnout in Workers in Nurseries and Kindergartens in a Southern Chilean Province: An Approach to Childrens Mental Health

Introduction: In Chile there is little information on professional burnout in workers in nurseries and kindergartens, despite the fact that it is a phenomenon that would have consequences not only for those who suffer from it but also for the people around them, particularly those who are under their care. Methodology: A quantitative approach, descriptive non-experimental transectional design was used. 97 caregivers selected through convenience sampling were studied, to whom the Maslach Burnout Inventory (HSS) and a sociodemographic background scale were applied with the objective of determining the prevalence of burnout syndrome in such workers ina province of the South of Chile. Results: The results show that almost all the participants (99%) have some level of professional burnout, a high number of people have medium or high levels of Emotional Exhaustion (46.9%) and Depersonalization (31.2%), as well as a level medium or low Personal Achievement (27.1%). It was also observed that Emotional Exhaustion varies according to the stage of development (p = .009) and the educational level (p = 0.017).

Skills for Life: Stress and Brain Development in Early Childhood

Learning to cope with disappointments and overcoming obstacles is part of growing up. By conquering some challenges, children develop resilience. Such normal stressors may include initiating a new activity or separation from parents during preschool hours. However, when the challenges in early childhood are intensified by important stressors happening outside their own lives, they may start to worry about the safety of themselves and their families. This may cause chronic stress, which interferes with their emotional, cognitive, and social development. In developing country contexts, it is especially hard to capture promptly the effects of stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic on childrens cognitive and socioemotional development. In this note, we draw on the literature on the effect of stress on brain development and examine data from a recent survey of households with young children carried out in four Latin American countries to offer suggestions for policy responses. We suggest that early childhood and education systems play a decisive role in assessing and addressing childrens mental health needs. In the absence of forceful policy responses on multiple fronts, the mental health outcomes may become lasting.