Burnout in healthcare professionals working with patients with disorders of consciousness

Healthcare and social professionals working with patients with chronic diseases such as disorders of consciousness (DOCs) are at risk for developing burnout, a stress-induced occupational syndrome. The aim of this study was to evaluate burnout among professionals working with patients with DOCs in post-acute and long-term care institutions.

Healthcare and social professionals were enrolled in 78 Italian institutions and completed the 22-item Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which investigates emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and personal accomplishment (PA).

1149 questionnaires were returned. Respondents showed statistically lower level of burnout in EE, DP and PA compared to normative data of Italian healthcare practitioners (p< 0.001) and 41.7% showed high scores in at least one subscale. Working hours per week correlated positively with EE (r=0.150, p<0.001) and negatively with PA (r= -0.111, p=0.005). Mann-Whitney U and the Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to assess differences between groups. Nurses reported statistically significant higher levels of DP and lower levels of PA compared to other professionals.

Professionals working with patients with DOCs complained moderate to low levels of burnout. A better understanding of the components of occupational stress may allow the development of a targeted strategy to prevent negative outcomes, enhance well-being of professionals who suffered burnout and, in turn, improve quality of life of patients.