Development of an Evidence-Based Program to Address Burnout and Resilience in Nursing

Abstract Problem: Public health nurses at a county health department are experiencing burnout because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Purpose: The purpose of this program development project was to address burnout in public health nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic through assessment and recommended resilience interventions. Methods: Two survey tools to measure burnout and resilience were distributed to 70 public health nurses. A literature review using the Wiederman framework for battling burnout and building resilience guided the development of the resilience toolkit. Intervention: A resilience toolkit consisting of evidence-based interventions, budgets, assessment tools, an example plan, and posters was developed for the organization. Results: Baseline data collected from 49 of 70 public health nurses revealed high levels of burnout (M=59.1; SD=15.86) and resilience (M=39.3; SD=5.64). Resilience scores were found to be positively correlated to burnout scores (r=.398). Resilience interventions were compiled into a toolkit for the organization to implement on their timeframe. Conclusions: Organizational assessment and environmental scanning were key to problem and subsequent intervention identification. For this project, program development formed the basis for future monitoring of nurse burnout and resilience as resiliency activities are implemented to improve workforce health