[Psychological flexibility, burnout and job satisfaction in dementia care workers]

The clinical complexity of dementia, its physical burden, and the potential assaults associated with psychological and behavioral symptoms, could put healthcare workers working with dementia at high risk of burnout. Certain attitudes toward dementia and certain coping styles may be a protective factor against the stress experienced by these workers. On the other hand, it has been shown that a coping style based on psychological flexibility can prevent the development of burnout in the workplace. The present study analyzes the relationship between levels of burnout, psychological flexibility, attitudes towards dementia and life satisfaction in a sample of healthcare workers who work with people affected by dementia.

A sample of 105 healthcare workers from the Ricard Fortuny Social Hospital was recruited (day hospital, hospitalization unit, and nursing home), and psychological flexibility (AAQII), burnout levels (MBI), life satisfaction (SWL), anxiety (STAI-R), and attitudes towards dementia (EAD) were assessed.

Psychological inflexiblility showed a positive relationship with 2 dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion [r=.342, P<.01]; depersonalization [r=.328, P<.01]), and with anxiety (r=.723, P<.01), and also showed a negative relation with life satisfaction (r=-.485, P<.01) and affect attitude (r=-.209); p<.05). It was also found a negative relation between rejection attitude with emotional exhaustion (r=-.328, P<.01) and with depersonalization (r=-.328; P<.01).

Those participants with greater psychological flexibility, in addition to feel more satisfaction with life, were found to be less likely to feel emotionally exhausted, to depersonalize patients with dementia, and felt more affection for them. On the other hand, no relationship was found between Burnout levels and the cognitive dimension of Attitudes towards dementia (the worker's knowledge of dementia). The results have significant implications regarding the type of training that is given to healthcare workers who work with people affected by dementia. Psychoeducational interventions promoting the psychological flexibility could help to reduce the risk of burnout in healthcare workers who work with dementia.