Original Research: Addressing Nurse Burnout: The Relationship Between Burnout and Physical Activity

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses have faced innumerable challenges, which have contributed to staggering increases in burnout rates. In the health care arena, burnout has been associated with the onset or exacerbation of physical illness, neglect of self-care, fatigue, decreased patient satisfaction, higher medication error rates, lack of nurse engagement, and increased nurse turnover.

This cross-sectional study sought to determine whether a correlation exists between self-reported physical activity and nurses' perception of burnout in a sample of hospital RNs. The secondary aim was to determine whether a correlation exists between the level of perceived burnout and the number of medication errors or near misses.

Participants were asked to provide demographic information, complete the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) and the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ), and self-report the number of medication errors or near misses they were involved in during the previous 12 months. Data were analyzed using Stata version 17 software.

A total of 216 participants returned usable surveys. Regarding the relationship between burnout and physical activity levels, data analysis was performed for the 210 participants who completed both the CBI and the GLTEQ. Compared with the least physically active nurses, the most active nurses had significantly lower CBI scores, with 68.5% of those reporting low or no burnout also scoring 24 or more on the GLTEQ. The least physically active nurses had significantly higher CBI scores, with 47.6% of those reporting high burnout also scoring 13 or less on the GLTEQ. Moreover, 90% of the nurses with high burnout levels had directly cared for COVID-19 patients at some point between 2020 and 2022. Medical-surgical nurses experienced significantly higher levels of burnout compared with nurses working in other service areas. No significant relationship was found between the number of medication errors or near misses and burnout levels.

This study found that the most physically active nurses reported lower levels of burnout, while the highest levels of burnout were found in the least active nurses. Although COVID-19 infection rates have eased, many nurses, particularly those who have cared for COVID-19 patients and those who work in medical-surgical environments, continue to experience burnout. Targeted programs to reduce work-related burnout, as well as organizational sponsorship of and unit-level support for such programs, are urgently needed. This study's findings suggest that promotion of physical activity may be an essential component to alleviating burnout.