An investigation of the relationship between burnout, self-actualization and trait anxiety among community home health nurses

Bibliography: pages [43]-48.The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of burnout among community home health nurses and to investigate the relationship between burnout, self-actualization and trait anxiety. A convenience sample of 58 full-time staff nurses, 97% females, employed at least 1 year at Medicare-certified home health agencies in Northern Illinois completed and returned materials to the researcher. Four instruments were used in the study: a demographic questionnaire, the Staff Burnout Scale for Health Professionals, the Personal Orientation Inventory (a measure of self-actualization), and the Trait portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Burnout was documented among the sample of home health nurses, although the mean was less than that of hospital-based nurses and other professionals studied with the instrument. The level of burnout was also lower than anticipated from the literature on community nurses and from anecdotal accounts. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were computed using scores and demographic information from the four instruments administered in the study. The more burned-out nurses were found to be less self- actualized, higher in trait anxiety, older, with fewer children and other dependents, had been in their jobs and in community health nursing a longer time than less burned-out nurses. The findings of this study can be used to identify nurses at risk for burnout. Further research that is needed includes: replication of the present study with hospital-based nurses as a comparison group, exploration of the relationship between burnout and the practice environment, investigation of the influence of social support on burnout among women in the workforce and determination of the effects of self- regulatory stress management practices on the occurrence of burnout among health professionals.M.S. (Master of Science