Burnout syndrome risk factors among nurses in secondary health care

Abstract

Introduction/Objective The burnout syndrome among the nursing staff occurs when the intensity of the stressor exceeds the realistic capabilities of the individual/employee. This article aims to identify burnout syndrome risk factors in the nurse/technician population in secondary healthcare institutions. Methods The research was conducted at the General Hospital in Loznica in May 2023, as a cross-sectional study on a sample of 58 nurses/technicians. The research instrument was a questionnaire specifically constructed for this study, which incorporated 14 questions related to the assessment of burnout syndrome. The results were scored, and the level of burnout was analyzed according to the Freudenberger scale. Results The majority of the respondents (66%) primarily identified stress in the workplace, as opposed to other studied stressors; 69% of the sample felt overworked, and 27% felt constant fatigue regardless of the amount of rest and sleep they got. By assessing the existence of burnout syndrome, which was carried out based on a point system and the original scale (derived from the semantic differential scale), it was determined that 4% of the respondents were professionally burned out, 15% were affected by the burnout syndrome, 32% were at risk, and that 40 % of the sample were candidates for its development. Conclusion Nurses/technicians are continuously exposed to stress in the workplace due to the very nature of the work they perform. Therefore, the activities of all relevant organizations and institutions should be focused on designing preventive strategies regarding burnout in the workplace. This research proved the existence of stress at work, work overload, fatigue, inadequate working conditions, and lack of self-maintenance strategies and culture of support at the workplace in the observed population.