Burnout and occupational accident

Abstract

Introduction

Burn out mainly occurs among healthcare employees. This professional category is exposed to a large load of emotional disturbance.

Objectives

The aim of this work was to study the levels of burnout syndrome in caregivers who were victims to occupational accident.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted during 2014-2015 in the occupational medicine department. The target population consisted of the healthcare employees who reported their exposure to occupational accident. A semi-structured self-reported questionnaire including the Maslach questionnaire was used to collect information. Data were analyzed using SPSS-20.

Results

One hundred and sixty health professionals returned the questionnaire (58% women, mean age 31.9 years old). Occupational accidents occurred mostly in the morning (62.5%). Among the healthcare providers, 112 health professionals (70%) had had sharp injuries. Burn out was found among 23.1% of the studied population. It was defined by its three domains: a high emotional exhaustion (46.9%), high depersonalization with low personal accomplishment (36.3%) and high depersonalization without low personal accomplishment (34.4%). Professionals with less years in the function (P = 0.031) and technicians (P = 0.028) were more affected by Burnout. A significant relationship was found between traumatic accidents (P = 0.012), needle stick injuries (P = 0.009) and burnout.

Conclusion

The prevalence of burnout is high among health professionals which can increase the risk of occupational accidents and its subsequent risks. It seems that holding workshops and increasing healthcare givers’ awareness and skills to face these risks can be effective in mitigating them.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.