Introduction: Several studies described burnout levels of healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, sex-related differences remain poorly investigated. Objective: To describe sex-related differences in burnout and its determinants among HCWs during the first pandemic wave of the COVID-19 in Italy. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed between April and May 2020. The framework given by the Job Demands Resources (JD-R) model was used to assess burnout determinants (risk and protective factors). Results: Male HCWs (n=133) had higher levels of depersonalization than female HCWs (P=0,017) and female HCWs (n=399) reported greater emotional exhaustion rates (P=0,005). Female nurses were the most exposed to burnout (OR=2,47; 95%CI=1,33-4,60; P=0,004), emotional exhaustion (OR=1,89; 95% CI=1,03-3,48; P=0,041), and depersonalization (OR=1,91; 95% CI=1,03-3,53; P=0,039). Determinants of burnout differed between sexes, and some paradoxical associations were detected: the score of job demands was a protective factor in females for burnout, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization, resilience was a risk factor for males. Conclusions: This study reveals that the stressors in male and female HCWs tended to be associated with burnout differently. Both sexes showed alarming burnout levels, even if the weights of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization acted in different ways between the sexes. The revealed paradoxical effects in this study could reflect the study’s cross-sectional nature, highlighting that more resilient and empathic individuals were more consciously overwhelmed by the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, thus reporting higher scores of emotional exhaustion and burnout. Future in-depth and longitudinal analyses are recommended to further explore sex-related differences in burnout among HCWs. Keywords: Burnout; COVID-19; depersonalization; emotional exhaustion; healthcare workers
Introduzione: Diversi studi hanno descritto i livelli di burnout negli operatori sanitari (HCWs) durante l’epidemia di COVID-19; tuttavia, le differenze sesso specifiche rimangono poco studiate. Obiettivi: Descrivere le differenze sesso specifiche nel burnout e i fattori determinanti tra gli operatori sanitari durante la prima ondata pandemica del COVID-19 in Italia. Metodi: È stato condotto uno studio cross-sezionale tra aprile e maggio 2020. La struttura è stata tratta dal modello Job Demands Resources (JD-R) che è stato utilizzato per valutare i determinanti del burnout (fattori di rischio e protettivi). Risultati: Gli operatori sanitari uomini (n=133) hanno evidenziato livelli più elevati di depersonalizzazione rispetto alle donne (P=0,017) e queste ultime (n=399) hanno riportato tassi più elevati di esaurimento emotivo (P=0,005). Si è visto come le donne infermiere erano più esposte al burnout (OR=2,47; 95%CI=1,33-4,60; P=0,004), all’esaurimento emotivo (OR=1,89; 95%CI=1,03-3,48; P=0,041), e alla depersonalizzazione (OR=1,91; 95%CI=1,03-3,53; P=0,039). È stato individuato che i determinanti del burnout differiscono tra i sessi, e sono state evidenziate alcune associazioni che risultano paradossali: il punteggio delle job demands infatti risultava essere un fattore protettivo nelle donne per il burnout, l’esaurimento emotivo e la depersonalizzazione, mentre la resilienza è risultato essere un fattore di rischio per i maschi. Conclusioni: Questo studio evidenzia come i fattori di stress negli operatori sanitari, uomini e donne, tendono a determinare il burnout in maniera diversa. Entrambi i sessi hanno mostrato livelli allarmanti di burnout, anche se i pesi dell’esaurimento emotivo e della depersonalizzazione hanno agito in maniera diversa tra i sessi. Gli effetti paradossali rivelati da questo studio potrebbero riflettere la sua natura trasversale, evidenziando che gli individui più resilienti ed empatici sono stati quelli più consapevolmente sopraffatti dalle sfide legate alla pandemia COVID-19, riportando così punteggi più elevati di esaurimento emotivo e burnout. Si raccomandano future analisi approfondite e longitudinali per esplorare le differenze sesso specifiche nel burnout tra gli operatori sanitari. Parole chiave: Burnout; COVID-19; depersonalizzazione; esaurimento emotivo; operatori sanitari
Burnout syndrome and its determinants among healthcare workers during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy: a cross-sectional study to identify sex-related differences
BRERA, ALICE SILVIA
2020/2021
Abstract
Introduction: Several studies described burnout levels of healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, sex-related differences remain poorly investigated. Objective: To describe sex-related differences in burnout and its determinants among HCWs during the first pandemic wave of the COVID-19 in Italy. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed between April and May 2020. The framework given by the Job Demands Resources (JD-R) model was used to assess burnout determinants (risk and protective factors). Results: Male HCWs (n=133) had higher levels of depersonalization than female HCWs (P=0,017) and female HCWs (n=399) reported greater emotional exhaustion rates (P=0,005). Female nurses were the most exposed to burnout (OR=2,47; 95%CI=1,33-4,60; P=0,004), emotional exhaustion (OR=1,89; 95% CI=1,03-3,48; P=0,041), and depersonalization (OR=1,91; 95% CI=1,03-3,53; P=0,039). Determinants of burnout differed between sexes, and some paradoxical associations were detected: the score of job demands was a protective factor in females for burnout, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization, resilience was a risk factor for males. Conclusions: This study reveals that the stressors in male and female HCWs tended to be associated with burnout differently. Both sexes showed alarming burnout levels, even if the weights of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization acted in different ways between the sexes. The revealed paradoxical effects in this study could reflect the study’s cross-sectional nature, highlighting that more resilient and empathic individuals were more consciously overwhelmed by the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, thus reporting higher scores of emotional exhaustion and burnout. Future in-depth and longitudinal analyses are recommended to further explore sex-related differences in burnout among HCWs. Keywords: Burnout; COVID-19; depersonalization; emotional exhaustion; healthcare workersÈ consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
Per maggiori informazioni e per verifiche sull'eventuale disponibilità del file scrivere a: unitesi@unipv.it.
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/13690