Burnout and coping among healthcare providers working in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background Burnout is defined as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterised by feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job and reduced professional efficacy. The COVID-19 pandemic has created unexpected demands on healthcare systems worldwide and they have experienced numerous stressors. As the coping is one of the stressors management strategies that may affect burnout, this is a descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to estimate the frequency and level of burnout and its association with coping strategies among physicians and nurses in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 Pandemic using Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and Brief-COPE. Results Overall, 403 healthcare providers were recruited (85 physicians, 318 nurses). Personal, work-related and client-related burnout were detected among 67.5%, 68% and 58.3% of the respondents, respectively. The mean score for adaptive coping was (27.6 ± 10.3, median: 29 IQR: 14.0) out of 48, and the mean score for maladaptive coping was (14.2 ± 6.81, median: 14 IQR: 8.0) out of 36. Some factors associated with burnout were participants’ age group, professional position, number of family members and years of experience in the medical field. The personal, work-related and client-related burnout had inverse correlations with the overall adaptive coping category. Conclusion The frequency of burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among nurses, was significant. Burnout was also frequent among both the younger age group and those with fewer years of experience. Some predictors were identified as having a close person infected with COVID-19, being assigned to treat COVID-19 patients, longer working hours, having sleeping hours affected by the pandemic and experiencing verbal or physical abuse from patients. In addition to a significant correlation between the adaptive coping category and the three burnout dimensions.