RESEARCH ARTICLE
Impact of Coping Skills and Mental Health in Burnout among Healthcare Professionals during Pandemic COVID-19
Blerte Hyseni1, Vjosa Hajrullahu2, Blerta Kryeziu2, 3, Lulejete Prekazi3, Besarta Taganoviq2, Bujar Shabani2, Florim Gallopeni3, *
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2023Volume: 17
E-location ID: e187443462306230
Publisher ID: e187443462306230
DOI: 10.2174/18744346-v17-e20230711-2022-180
Article History:
Received Date: 14/11/2022Revision Received Date: 24/05/2023
Acceptance Date: 24/05/2023
Electronic publication date: 02/08/2023
Collection year: 2023
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Introduction:
Healthcare professionals face numerous challenges, such as increased risk of exposure to the SARS Cov-2 and infected patients, heavy workloads, and ethical dilemmas in their daily practice, compounded by a constantly evolving clinical environment. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated burnout rates among healthcare professionals due to prolonged working hours and other stressors such as environmental, physiological, and psychological.
Methods:
This study was designed as a cross-sectional and correlational investigation and included 691 healthcare providers, including physicians and nurses working in public healthcare institutions in Kosovo. The questionnaire comprised four sections: Socio-demographic, General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), COPE Questionnaire, and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI).
Results:
The results indicated that healthcare professionals experienced emotional fatigue and depersonalization at average to high levels of 38.7%, respectively 87.0%, specifically, during the pandemic. While 88.0% of healthcare professionals reported experiencing personal success. Furthermore, 50.2% of healthcare professionals had Clinical Somatic Symptoms, 44.4% had Clinical Symptoms of Anxiety and Insomnia, 28.8% had Clinical Social Dysfunction, 34.5% had Clinical Symptoms of Depression, and 43.3% displayed Clinical Symptoms/Distress of GHQ-28 scores. The burnout scales, Emotional fatigue, and Depersonalization were positively and significantly correlated with all General Health Questionnaire scales.
Conclusion:
The study's findings highlight the critical importance of developing and implementing psychological interventions for healthcare professionals who are struggling with mental health issues and experiencing high levels of burnout. These interventions could be conducted individually or in groups and should be prioritized to support healthcare professionals' recovery. As the pandemic continues to impact healthcare professionals, it is crucial to enhance coping strategies within the workplace to maintain their well-being and potentially mitigate burnout rates for future pandemics. Thus, there is an urgent need to address the mental health challenges faced by healthcare professionals, and proactive measures should be taken to provide them with the necessary support and resources to cope effectively during these trying times.
