Mental health of helathcare workers in COVID-19 pandemic

Cilj istraživanja: Cilj ovog istraživanja je ispitati zastupljenost simptoma sindroma sagorijevanja u medicinskih sestara i tehničara te utvrditi povezanost s duljinom izravne izloženosti radu s pacijentima oboljelima od bolesti COVID-19 i psihološkom fleksibilnosti. Utvrditi postoji li povezanost sindroma sagorijevanja i psihološke fleksibilnosti sa spolom, obrazovanjem, dobi i duljinom radnog staža. Ispitanici i postupci: Istraživanje se provelo na uzorku od oko 211 medicinskih sestara i tehničara zdravstvenih ustanova diljem Republike Hrvatske pri čemu su se upitnici ispunjavali putem elektronske verzije. Korišten je demografski upitnik i upitnik o radu s COVID-19 pacijentima te dva standardizirana upitnika: Upitnik intenziteta sagorijevanja na poslu i Upitnik prihvaćanja i akcije (AAQ-II). Statistička analiza je učinjena u programu IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Rezultati: Prosječni rezultat naših 211 ispitanika na Upitniku sagorijevanja iznosio je 27,25 što znači da u prosjeku imaju početne simptome sagorijevanja na poslu. Rezultat na Upitniku sagorijevanja se nije statistički značajno razlikovao između osoba koje su bile raspoređene za rad na COVID-19 odjelu i onih koji to nisu te nije ovisio o duljini rada na odjelu. Rezultati na Upitniku prihvaćanja i akcije (AAQ-II) pozitivno koreliraju s ukupnim rezultatom na Upitniku sagorijevanja, tj. medicinske sestre i tehničari koji imaju veću psihološku fleksibilnost imaju nižu razinu sindroma sagorijevanja. Stupanj stresa na odjelu s COVID-19 bolesnicima pozitivno korelira s ukupnim rezultatom na Upitniku sagorijevanja i na Upitniku prihvaćanja i akcije (AAQ-II). Osobe koje su stupanj stresa proglasile višim imale su i više sagorijevanja na poslu te veću psihološku nefleksibilnost. Nismo dobili statistički značajne razlike između demografskih skupina (spol, obrazovanje, dob, duljina radnog staža) na Upitniku sagorijevanja i Upitniku akcije i prihvaćanja (AAQ-II). Zaključci: Dobiveno pokazuje kako su, neovisno o iskustvu i duljini rada s COVID-19 pacijentima, medicinske sestre i tehničari generalno u riziku za sagorijevanje na radnom mjestu i psihičke smetnje. Ove spoznaje ističu važnost brige za mentalno zdravlje zdravstvenih djelatnika kao vulnerabilne skupine za razvoj psihičkih smetnji te otvaraju prostor za razvoj pravovremenih preventivnih i intervencijskih aktivnosti s posebnim naglaskom na one koje za cilj imaju poboljšati psihološku fleksibilnost.Objectives: The aim of this research is to examine the prevalence of symptoms of burnout syndrome in nurses and to determine the relationship with the length of direct exposure to work with patients suffering from the disease COVID-19 and psychological flexibility. We also wanted to determine whether there is an association between burnout syndrome and psychological flexibility with gender, education, age and length of service. Subjects and Methods: The research was conducted on a sample of about 211 nurses of health institutions throughout the Republic of Croatia, where the questionnaires were filled out via the electronic version. A demographic questionnaire and a questionnaire on working with COVID-19 patients and two standardized questionnaires were used: the Burnout Intensity Questionnaire and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II). Statistical analysis was performed in the IBM SPSS Statistics 20 program. Results: The average score of our 211 respondents on the Burnout Questionnaire was 27.25, which means that in general they have initial symptoms of burnout at work. The result on the Burnout Questionnaire was not statistically significantly different between people who were assigned to work in the COVID-19 ward and those who were not, and it did not depend on the length of work in the ward. The results on the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) positively correlate with the total score on the Burnout Questionnaire, meaning nurses and technicians who have higher psychological flexibility have a lower level of burnout syndrome. The degree of stress in the ward with COVID-19 patients positively correlates with the total score on the Burnout Questionnaire and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II). People who declared the level of stress to be higher had more burnout at work and greater psychological inflexibility. We did not obtain statistically significant differences between demographic groups (gender, education, age, length of work experience) on the Burnout Questionnaire and the Action and Acceptance Questionnaire (AAQ-II). Conclusions: The findings show that, regardless of experience and length of work with COVID-19 patients, nurses are generally at risk for workplace burnout and psychological distress. These findings highlight the importance of caring for the mental health of health workers as a vulnerable group for the development of psychological disorders