Burnout among care aides in long-term care: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The global aging population has increased demand for long-term care (LTC) facilities, placing care aides at heightened risk of burnout. However, a comprehensive synthesis of burnout levels and the factors associated with burnout among care aides remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate burnout levels and associated factors among care aides in LTC facilities.

Seven electronic databases were searched from inception to March 13, 2026. The Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools were used to assess the risk of bias, and Stata 18.0 was used for meta-analysis. A linear transformation was employed to standardize the raw scores for each subscale across studies to the range 0-1. Associated factors were synthesized narratively and categorized into an ecological framework.

The meta-analyses yielded normalized mean scores of 0.36 (95% CI: 0.29-0.43) for emotional exhaustion, 0.24 (95% CI: 0.15-0.33) for depersonalization, and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.70-0.81) for personal accomplishment (all p < .001). Variations were associated with participant age, geographic region, sample size, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory version used. The associated factors were mapped across 4 interconnected domains: personal, interpersonal, work-related, and organizational. Given the high heterogeneity (all I² > 99%), results should be interpreted with caution.

Burnout among care aides shows substantial heterogeneity and is associated with multilevel personal, interpersonal, work-related, and organizational factors. Mitigating burnout requires multilevel and targeted interventions.