Psychosocial factors, psychological wellbeing, sleep quality and burnout levels in health and social professionals

Abstract

Background: The aim of the present study was to examine the association between psychosocial factors at work, psychological wellbeing, sleep quality, and burnout subdimensions in a population of health and social professionals working in community-based service for people with severe disability. Methods: One hundred-fifteen health and social professionals, aged between 23 and 63, filled a questionnaire including: self-evaluated job stress sources (working time, physical-mental workload, relation with the service corporation, with superiors, with patients, with patient family members), the Psychological Wellbeing 18-item short version (PWB), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). A series of logistic regressions were run in order to test whether high vs. low psychological wellbeing, good vs. poor sleep quality, and job stress sources, were predictive of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and personal accomplishment (PA). Findings: 43.48% of our sample can be classified in a burnout condition. EE was predicted by sleep quality (p<.001) and by physical-mental workload (p<.05). DP was predicted by sleep quality (p<-05), or psychological wellbeing (p<.05). PA was predicted by psychological wellbeing (p<.005). Discussion: Health and social professionals working in community-based service for people with severe disability have to cope daily with stressful stimuli. Since critical states of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization are predicted by poor sleep quality and low psychological wellbeing, a greater attention should be payed to enhance sleep quality and promote psychological wellbeing in order to prevent burnout.