Healthcare workers in Bahrain have reported ‘moderate to severe levels of burnout and depression’ as a result of their work at the frontlines of the kingdom’s battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, a recent study has found ... but being happily married helped.
The study titled ‘Burnout, Depression and Associated Risk Factors Among Frontline Healthcare Workers in Bahrain during Covid-19’ was conducted between August 2020 and April 2021.
Health Ministry researchers Charlotte Kamel, Redha Al Hammam and Suhail Sarwani conducted the study, which was published in the latest issue of The Arab Journal of Psychiatry.
“Almost all participants reported some degree of burnout across all three subscales: emotional exhaustion (98.8 per cent), depersonalisation (94pc) and lack of personal achievement (47.9pc),” the study noted.
The team surveyed 431 healthcare workers out of the 5,898 doctors and nurses currently registered with the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA). To assess burnout and depression levels, the researchers utilised the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).
Dimensions
The MBI-HSS is a specialisation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which was developed to assess burnout in three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment.
Burnout is a syndrome across these three dimensions which can occur amongst individuals who do ‘people work’ of some kind.
The PHQ-9 is a validated screening tool used to monitor the severity of depression.
The study noted that women comprised 72.4pc of the study sample and that three-quarters of respondents were aged 25 to 44 years (76.1pc) and married (75.4pc).
The majority of the study’s sample group (62.6pc) had a work experience of 10 years or less and most (78.7pc) had worked with Covid-19 patients, with nearly half (43.3pc) having worked at Covid-19 treatment facilities.
“Nearly half of participants exhibited moderate to severe levels of emotional exhaustion (47.2pc) and severe levels of depersonalisation (39.5pc)
“Female subjects reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion and depression compared to men,” the study noted.
“Participants aged 25-34 years documented significantly higher levels of burnout across all three domain and depression, as did Bahraini citizens and those who were single.”
Unmarried healthcare workers were found to be more likely to report burnout than married ones – a finding which ‘has not been reported in other studies,’ according to the report.
“Unmarried trainees and women were also more likely to report depression possibly due to virtual interactions and lack of social connections,” researchers added.
Those who worked more than eight hours a day were emotionally exhausted, with high workload, close contact with Covid-19 patients, making critical life-prioritising decisions, time pressures, diminished decision-making, changes in duty rosters, cancellations of vacations and poor access to appropriate personal protective equipment cited as plausible reasons for doctors being more likely to report burnout.
“In summary, single Bahraini female doctors aged 25 to 34 years who worked with Covid-19 patients were more likely to report burnout,” the study found.
“Over half of respondents reported depression (56.8pc).”
The study noted that mental health issues among healthcare workers including burnout and depression could impact patient care and quality of decision making.
Researchers recommended continuous monitoring and timely management of healthcare workers’ burnout and depression to safeguard their health. They also recommended work-hour regulation programmes, strategies to lower the pressure of difficult decision-making, planning rewards, providing individual or group psychological support programmes, improving work organisation through focus groups, providing skill training programmes and online cognitive behavioural therapy or mindfulness-based therapy.
The study was done in co-ordination with the National Covid-19 Research team, and acknowledged the contribution of National Medical Taskforce for Combating Coronavirus members Dr Manaf Al Qahtani and Dr Jameela Al Salman.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
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