Correlation between job burnout and Fear of COVID-19 among ICU and CCU Nurses (Case study: Shahid Madani Cardiac Hospital, Tabriz, Iran)

Abstract

Background: Occupational burnout among nurses is one of the major factors which affect the quality of nursing care. Assessing the relationship between burnout and its associated factors is one of the most basic things that should be done so that later, actions can be taken to reduce burnout. Fear of COVID-19 is one of the factors that can increase the burnout of nurses during the Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic. Aim: To investigate the relationship between job burnout and fear of COVID-19 among ICU and CCU nurses. Methods: The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) were distributed to ICU and CCU nurses (n = 170) at Shahid Madani Cardiac Hospital, Tabriz, Iran, and the correlation between job burnout and fear of COVID-19 was calculated. Results: The results show that the level of emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment among participants of this study is average, and depersonalization is at a low level. Also, the level of fear of coronavirus is below average among the respondents. The research showed that emotional exhaustion and fear of COVID-19 were positively correlated (p < 0.05), but there was not any significant correlation between depersonalization and fear of Coronavirus; as the relationship between reduced personal accomplishment and fear of COVID-19. In addition, there were significant correlations between age and reduced personal accomplishment, as well as marital status and reduced personal accomplishment (p < 0.05). On the other hand, the results showed that there were not any significant correlations between gender and burnout dimensions, nor between educational degree and burnout dimensions. Conclusion: As job burnout reduces the quality of nursing care, managers must take strategies that reduce job burnout. One of the strategies that they can take is to reduce the fear of COVID-19 by taking wise strategies.