Burnout and psychological distress among nurses working in primary health care clinics in West Bank-Palestine

Nurses and midwives are necessary at all aspects of primary health care; they need a lot of devotion with respect to patient administration and bringing care. The time and devotion spent by nurses and midwives in nursing duty may lead to burnout and psychological distress. There is a lack of study in Palestine that investigate the burnout syndrome and the level of psychological distress among nurses and midwives in primary health care clinics. Therefore, this study estimates the propagation of overwork and psychological distress among primary health care nurses and midwives working in the north of the West Bank. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was applied using a self-administered questionnaire pack. The questionnaire pack had Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) to evaluate the level of burnout and psychological distress among 295 nurses and midwives working in the Palestinian governmental primary health care centers in the north of the West Bank. Data were analyzed using the SPSS system version 20. The prevalence of distress and burnout was 10.6% among 207 nurses and midwives who participated in this study. High levels of burnout were found in 36.7% of the respondents in the area of emotional exhaustion, 14% in the area of depersonalization, and 17.9% in the area of reduced personal accomplishment. However, 22.6% had a positive score in the GHQ-28 which proves the very existence of psychological distress amongst the respondents. The current study explained the relationship between nurses' burnout syndrome and the level of psychological distress. It also indicates that this burnout and psychological distress are common among nurses working in PHC. This study concluded that PHC nurses in the north of the West Bank need more attention to deal with their psychological conditions. Nursing managers and others in the Palestinian ministry of health are in good position to support nurses, especially when nurses express different sources of stress. Nurses' burnout and psychological distress levels have special characteristics relating to the unique structure of health care in Palestine.