Estudio sobre el Síndrome de Burnout en Profesionales de Enfermería de Cuidados Paliativos del País Vasco

Abstract

Burnout Syndrome has devastating consequences in patients and health care professionals. Palliative Care (PC) work, because of its characteristics, has been considered a potential source of burnout. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the levels and prevalence of burnout in palliative care nurses and to evaluate risk factors of burnout. Methods: The study was conducted with a sample of PC nurses and a control group of non PC (NPC) nurses from the same hospitals. Major measures included the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), a perceived social support scale, a work satisfaction questionnaire and sociodemographic variables. Results: One hundred and fi ve nurses were included in this study, out of which sixty-four (61%) belonged to the PC group. Signifi cant differences in levels and prevalence of burnout were not found between the two groups studied. In the MBI, 58(NPC)-62(PC)% have high emotional exhaustion, 66(NPC)-59(PC)% high depersonalization and 66(NPC)-70(PC)% low personal accomplishment. One out of three nurses is below the regular limits of burnout, another one has burnout and the third one has high levels, with two or three burnout factors altered. The lack of training is related to higher emotional exhaustion (p.0,003) and lower personal accomplishment (p.0,031). A better satisfaction in PC nurses is observed. Conclusions: The burnout levels in the nurses studied have been found to be similar in both groups and higher than the normative scores of Spanish nurses. PC nurses are more satisfi ed and perceive more support in some aspects. The experience acts as a protective factor against emotional exhaustion. Nurses perceive lack of specifi c training and communication skills. It is necessary to study selection and training processes of nurses to prevent burnout in this population.