Nurses’ Perceived Demands and Burnout Level During the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis

Perceived Demands and Burnout Level

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic challenged the physical and psychological well-being of critical care nurses because of the increasing number of infected patients, demands of care and shortage of healthcare front-liners, particularly nurses. Therefore, critical care nurses were the most affected and at risk of experiencing burnout.

Purpose: This study determined nurses’ perceived demands and the significant predictors of their burnout level in critical care units of tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

Methods: This study used a cross-sectional research design. It was conducted from November to December 2021. Two hundred seventy nurses working in critical care units of tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia were surveyed using adopted questionnaires: Nurses’ Perceptions and Demands Regarding COVID-19 Care Delivery Questionnaire and Maslach Burnout Inventory. Participants were recruited through non-probability convenience sampling. Descriptive and inferential statistical procedures were applied with statistical significance set at p-value less than 0.05.

Results: The findings of this study revealed that the nurses’ demands concerning safety (M=2.84; SD=0.37), communication and relationships between team members (M=3.16; SD 0.63), and psycho-socio-emotional aspects (M=2.73; SD=0.49) were moderate, whereas their demands concerning organisation (M=2.23; SD 0.58) and decision-making (M=2.53; SD 0.58) were slight. Furthermore, the overall score on their levels of EE (M=32.46; SD=6.06) and DP (M=17.91; SD=3.77) were high; PA (M=28.84; SD=4.57) was low which indicates a high level of occupational burnout. Interestingly, the correlations between the dimensions of burnout and perceived demands were highly significant (p<0.001). Safety demand significantly predicted emotional exhaustion. Additionally, safety, organisation, and communication and relationships between team member’s demands were significant predictors of depersonalisation and personal accomplishment.

Conclusion: Nurses experienced imbalanced workloads in critical care units due to staff shortage and the increasing demand to provide care to patients infected with COVID-19. These situations increased their likelihood of experiencing physical and psychological pressure. Additionally, they experienced increased emotional distress and frustration in conveying their feelings of exhaustion that led to high burnout levels.