The Effectiveness of Group Interpersonal Therapy on Burnout Among Long-Term Care Workers

Burnout syndrome can have a negative impact on people who work in occupations that require close interaction with others, contributing to a decline in their psychological well-being. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of Group Interpersonal Therapy (IPT-G) in reducing burnout among care workers for older adults in a Turkish long-term care facility.

The study employed a pretest-post-test randomised experimental design. Fifty care workers scoring 27 or above on emotional exhaustion and 10 or above on depersonalisation subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group for 8 weeks. The study utilised the World Health Organization (WHO) Group Interpersonal Therapy for Depression manual as a guide. The post-test was conducted immediately after the last session of the intervention.

In comparing pre- and post-test scores of the intervention group, a statistically significant difference was found in overall burnout scores (pretest M = 74.10, post-test M = 63.08, p < 0.001; d = 1.12). Additionally, emotional exhaustion scores (pretest M = 30.99, post-test M = 24.89, p < 0.001; d = 1.11) and depersonalisation scores (pretest M = 12.76, post-test M = 8.53, p < 0.001; d = 1.69) exhibited significant differences. However, no significant difference was observed in personal accomplishment scores (p > 0.05). The control group had no significant differences concerning the overall burnout scores and all three subscales (p > 0.05).

The IPT-G used in this study effectively decreased burnout among care workers in a long-term care facility in Türkiye. In addition, the participants reported high satisfaction with the IPT-G program.

Our results support the usefulness of the IPT-G program for care workers in long-term care facilities considering adding it to their occupational health management. This research aimed to determine whether IPT-G successfully decreased care worker burnout. Future research focusing on various types of healthcare workers in long-term care facilities and examining factors such as burnout, job satisfaction and self-efficacy could provide more information on the effects of IPT-G.