Psychosocial factors and prevalence of burnout syndrome among nursing workers in intensive care units.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the prevalence of burnout syndrome among nursing workers in intensive care units and establish associations with psychosocial factors.


METHODS
This descriptive study evaluated 130 professionals, including nurses, nursing technicians, and nursing assistants, who performed their activities in intensive care and coronary care units in 2 large hospitals in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Data were collected in 2011 using a self-reported questionnaire. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to evaluate the burnout syndrome dimensions, and the Self Reporting Questionnaire was used to evaluate common mental disorders.


RESULTS
The prevalence of burnout syndrome was 55.3% (n = 72). In the quadrants of the demand-control model, low-strain workers exhibited a prevalence of 64.5% of suspected cases of burnout, whereas high-strain workers exhibited a prevalence of 72.5% of suspected cases (p = 0.006). The prevalence of suspected cases of common mental disorders was 27.7%; of these, 80.6% were associated with burnout syndrome (< 0.0001). The multivariate analysis adjusted for gender, age, educational level, weekly work duration, income, and thoughts about work during free time indicated that the categories associated with intermediate stress levels - active work (OR = 0.26; 95%CI = 0.09 - 0.69) and passive work (OR = 0.22; 95%CI = 0.07 - 0.63) - were protective factors for burnout syndrome.


CONCLUSIONS
Psychosocial factors were associated with the development of burnout syndrome in this group. These results underscore the need for the development of further studies aimed at intervention and the prevention of the syndrome.
Departamento Materno Infantil e Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brasil.
Jorge Luiz Lima
JL
da Silva
Secretaria Municipal de Saúde do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Rafael da Silva
Rda S
Soares
Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Bananal, Bananal, SP, Brasil.
Felipe dos Santos
Fdos S
Costa
Setor de Emergência, Hospital Estadual Carlos Chagas, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Danusa de Souza
Dde S
Ramos
Serviço de Gastroenterologia, Hospital Naval Marcílio Dias, Marinha do Brasil, São Gonçalo, RJ, Brasil.
Fabiano Bittencourt
FB
Lima
Centro de Estudos em Saúde do Trabalhador e Ecologia Humana, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Manguinhos, RJ, Brasil.
Liliane Reis
LR
Teixeira
D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003325:Coronary Care Units; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D009728:Nursing Assistants / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires