Burnout syndrome in healthcare professionals who care for patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness: a cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Abstract Background Burnout is more common among healthcare professionals, that is an important problem of professional distress that can seriously affect healthcare professionals’ emotional state, health, medical quality and doctor-patient relationship. However, only few studies researched the burnout status of healthcare professionals who care for patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of burnout and related contributing personal and environment factors in healthcare professionals managing these patients. Methods Institution-based cross-sectional study. Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey was used to evaluate burnout in professionals who specially care for patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness in the neurorehabilitation department. Results A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed, 121 were collected, among them 93 questionnaires could be used for further analysis. In this study, 61 participants (65.6%) showed burnout (55.2% physicians and 82.9% nurses). For the risks and Maslach Burnout Inventory scores, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were correlated with age, gender, occupation, marital status, years of practice, and education level. Reduced personal accomplishment was correlated with marital status. The variables of age (< 29 years old), occupation (nurses), marital status (unmarried), years of practice (< 5 years), and educational level (≤ Undergraduate) were associated with high levels of burnout. Conclusions Healthcare professionals who care for patients with disorders of consciousness experienced high levels of burnout. Especially those who were younger, nurse, unmarried, less practice experience or lower educational levels were more likely to experience high burnout.