Síndrome de desgaste laboral en profesionales de enfermería de dos unidades de cuidados intensivos en Costa Rica

Abstract

Introduction: Burnout syndrome occurs in all types of health professionals and is particularly common in people who care for critically ill patients. The development of this disorder is related to an imbalance between factors such as workload, pressure or stress and the personal characteristics of the employee. Burnout syndrome is associated with many detrimental consequences, such as increased rates of disability and job turnover, and reduced quality of patient care. This entity continues to be little recorded, recognized and treated in health professionals, especially intensive care professionals.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of burnout syndrome in nursing professionals in different intensive care units in Costa Rica and its relationship with sociodemographic and occupational variables.

Materials and methods: In April 2024, a self-administered, voluntary, and anonymous online survey was conducted, which included the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and a set of sociodemographic, labor, and lifestyle variables. The survey was sent to all nursing professionals who had been working for more than 4 years in the intensive care units of two university hospitals of the Costa-Ricans public health system.

Results: A total of 48 professionals responded to the survey, all over 30 years of age and mostly women. A high prevalence of burnout was found in the surveyed professionals, with effects on all dimensions of the entity. It was not possible to establish associations with specific risk factors in this population, except for the interim employment situation.

Conclusions: This research provided a previously non-existent knowledge regarding the burnout of this professional population.