The Relationship Between Occupational Burnout and Negative Affective Responses of Nurses During the Public Health Crisis

Background: Long-term exposure of nurses to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the lack of necessary and sufficient facilities to deal with the disease have had significant negative effects on their occupational and mental health. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the association between occupational burnout and negative affective responses, including depression, anxiety, and stress, in nurses during the recent pandemic. Methods: A total of 270 nurses who worked at Razi hospital, one of the principal referral hospitals for COVID-19 patients in the northern province of Guilan, Iran, throughout 2021 - 2022, were included in this study. These nurses were selected using convenience sampling and were assigned to one of three wards: COVID-19 (n = 43), emergency (n = 55), or other wards (n = 172). In addition to providing their sociodemographic information, the participants completed two assessments: The Maslach Burnout Inventory -Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales -42 (DASS-42). Results: The correlation matrix showed that all MBI-HSS and DASS-42 scores, except in one case, had a positive correlation with each other (P < 0.0001). In the multiple analysis of variance, gender (P = 0.17), education (P = 0.005), hospital ward (P = 0.048), social support (P = 0.001), family support (P < 0.0001), financial support (P = 0.01), occupational satisfaction (P = 0.044), social respect (P < 0.0001), history of death in the family (P = 0.006) and relatives (P = 0.043), and having a child in primary school age (P = 0.04) created a significant difference in MBI-HSS and DASS-42 scores. Conclusions: In general, nurses tend to be considerably affected by the negative effects of the recent public health crisis, especially occupational burnout, and it is necessary to make arrangements to improve their mental health and reduce the level of occupational burnout in them.