November
2020
- Volume 14, Issue 2
Monitoring
Burnout in the Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department
during the COVID-19 pandemic: the Saudi Arabian Experience
Rasha
A. Almubark (1,2)
Yahya Almaleh (3)
Nasser F. BinDhim (2,4)
Mona Almedaini (5)
Adel F. Almutairi (6)
Saleh A. Alqahtani (1,7)
(1) King Faisal Specialist Hospital
& Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
(2) Sharik Association for Health Research, Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia
(3) Private Clinic, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
(4) Saudi Food and Drug Authority, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
(5) King Abdullah Specialized Children Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia
(6) King Abdullah International medical Research Center, King
Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Ministry
of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
(7) Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
Corresponding author:
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
phone: +966 53 300 0043
Email: ralmubark@hotmail.com
Received: September 2020; Accepted:
October 2020; Published: November1, 2020
Citation: Rasha Slmubark et al. Monitoring Burnout in the
Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department during the COVID-19
pandemic: the Saudi Arabian Experience. Middle East Journal
of Nursing 2020; 14(2):12-21. DOI: 10.5742/MEJN2020.93790
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ABSTRACT
Background: Burnout among healthcare workers (HCWs) is
a prolonged unhealthy response to chronic interpersonal and
emotional stress originating in the workplace. Prior to the
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, burnout was
prevalent among HCWs in many intensive care units (ICUs) and
emergency departments (EDs) around the world. In the present
study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of burnout among
nurses working in the ICU and ED in Saudi Arabia during the
COVID-19 crisis, and to investigate efforts that can be made
to decrease the levels of burnout while the pandemic continues.
Methods: This work presents
an interim analysis of data from one clinical site belonging
to a larger study. An online anonymous survey was developed
to measure the following domains: personal factors, occupational
factors, personal opinions related to COVID-19, and burnout
level. A link to this survey was distributed to ICU and ED
nurses at four clinical sites by the site principal investigator.
Data from one site were obtained and a descriptive interim
analysis was conducted using R software.
Results: Forty-seven surveys
were available for analysis. A majority (81%) of respondents
worked in the pediatric ED, and 40% had worked over 80 hours
in the past two weeks. Seventy percent of the subjects expressed
they were afraid of infecting people at home with COVID-19,
and 68% expressed fear of becoming infected themselves. Overall,
30% of respondents were classified as having moderate burnout,
while only 11% had high burnout levels.
Discussion: Although burnout
was prevalent in many ICUs and EDs before COVID-19, it is
now more important than ever to manage and prevent it to maintain
a robust healthcare workforce. The numbers from our study
indicate a high prevalence of burnout among Saudi Arabian
nurses, and are comparable to studies among European HCWs
during the COVID-19 pandemic. A question is raised as to whether
burnout is an inevitable response to working in healthcare
and, in that case, what levels of burnout can be considered
acceptable. A new approach is needed to monitor burnout among
HCWs and implement policy interventions to reduce and prevent
it.
Key words: Occupational health,
burnout, nurse, intensive care unit, COVID-19, disease outbreak,
Saudi Arabia.
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