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.