Burnout in HEALTHCARE: Observational Study on a Sample of Nurses to Evaluate and Prevent Burnout Syndrome

Abstract

Background: The word burnout indicates a state of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and feelings of low personal accomplishment resulting from workplace stress (Maslach, 1981). It occurs in individuals who are employed "people-oriented" as nurses. The aim of this observational study is to analyse the differences among burnout components (Maslach, 1981) based on different average age of nurses(N =142)working in four health facilities in Milan. Methods: The level of burnout was measured by the MaslachBurnout Inventory (Emotional exhaustion: ?=.89; Depersonalization: ?=7; Personal accomplishment: ?=.7). Findings: One-way ANOVA shows that the older (mean age) the nurses in the structure, the greater the: (A) Emotional exhaustion, F (1,141) =13,803, p <.001, and (B) Depersonalization, F (1,141) =13,736, p <.001, but not the(C)Personal accomplishment, p>.05, ns. Discussion: Results indicate that structures with a higher average age of nurses, show higher levels in two out of three components of the MBI. These results can be used for structuring prevention and intervention on burnout for the nursing staff, taking into consideration the age factor.