Recovering After COVID-19: A Comparison of Burnout Levels Among Care Aides From 2014 to 2024

To examine recovery (prepandemic to postpandemic), specifically related to burnout for care aides working in nursing homes.

This repeated cross-sectional study used 5 data collection points spanning 10 years (2014-2024) collected by Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC). Time points were prepandemic: T1 (September 2014 to May 2015), T2 (May to December 2017), and T3 (September 2019 to March 2020); pandemic: T4 (June 2021to September 2021); and postpandemic: T5 (September 2023 to May 2024).

Participants were health care aides (care aides) working in nursing homes in the urban health zones of Calgary and Edmonton in the province of Alberta, Canada.

Measurements included demographic variables, unit and nursing home characteristics, and burnout, specifically the Maslach Burnout Inventory, short form 9 (MBI-GS9). The MBI has 3 subscales, emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy. We used descriptive statistics to describe the sample characteristics. We used hierarchical linear models (3 levels) to account for the nested structure of data to examine the change in burnout over time and examine factors associated with it.

Our total sample for each time point was as follows: T1 (n = 1620), T2 (n = 1789), T3 (n = 1590), T4 (n = 760), and T5 (n = 1727). Comparing burnout levels prepandemic to postpandemic showed that care aides' level of emotional exhaustion postpandemic was higher than prepandemic and that their level of professional efficacy was lower, which was statistically significant. Care aides' age and shift often worked were significantly associated with emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy.

Care aides have not fully recovered to prepandemic burnout levels, specifically their emotional exhaustion and professional efficacy levels. This study has important implications for the retention of this essential workforce in nursing homes.