Burnout and perceived effects on patients among nurses working in critical care settings: a case of the selected tertiary hospital in Rwanda

Abstract

Introduction Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Emergency Department are more stressful areas therefore nurses in those areas are prone to high level of burnout than others. In Rwanda, studies on prevalence of burnout among nurses are limited and there is no research targeting specifically nurses working in ICU and Emergency Department. Burnout among nurses had effects not only on nurses themselves but also patients receiving care. Therefore, this study aims to assess the level of burnout and perceived effets on patient care among nurses working in ICU and Emergency Department at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali. Methods A mixed method approach was adopted.A sequential explanatory design was used. Sixty nurses were involved in the study and they were selected using a total population sampling. Purposive sampling strategy was used to select participants for the focus group discussions. A self administered questionnaire and Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Service Survey were used to collect quantitative data and two focus groups were conducted for qualitative data. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 21.0 and qualitative data were analysed using a thematic analysis. Results The study found high level of burnout (61.7%) among the participants under study..High workload and intention to leave were associated with burnout (P<0.05).Burnout was measured by high Emotional Exhaustion(EE) which rated at 29(48.3%), high Depersonalization(DP) at 15(25%) and low Personal Accomplishment (PA) at 30 (50%). Participants of this study agreed that burnout compromises patient care to a certain degree though they make great efforts to avoid affecting patients. Conclusion The high level of burnout identified among ICU and Emergency Departement nurses is mainly associated with high workload and intention to leave the work within the next 12 months.Patients are affected when nurses are burned out therefore measures have to be put in place to manage and prevent burnout among nurses.