Relationship between job burnout, psychosocial factors and health care-associated infections in critical care units

Publié le 16 août 2017 • Catégorie(s) : Conditions de travail et santé psychologique • Mot(s) clef(s) : surmenage professionnel

Auteur    Maura Galletta
Auteur    Igor Portoghese
Auteur    Ernesto D’Aloja
Auteur    Alessandra Mereu
Auteur    Paolo Contu
Auteur    Rosa Cristina Coppola
Auteur    Gabriele Finco
Auteur    Marcello Campagna
Volume    34
Pages    51-58
Publication    Intensive & Critical Care Nursing
ISSN    1532-4036
Date    Jun 2016
Résumé    PURPOSE: Burnout is a serious problem for critical care unit workers because they are exposed to chronic psychosocial stressors, including high responsibility, advanced technology and high patient acuity. Recent evidence showed that staff burnout was directly associated with hospital infections, thus affecting quality and safety of care provided. METHODS: The research aim was to investigate how burnout was associated with some psychosocial factors and with health care-associated infections in hospitalised patients. A total of 130 healthcare professionals from critical care units completed a self-reported questionnaire. The infection data were collected prospectively over a six-month period. RESULTS: The results showed that emotional exhaustion was related to cynicism due to high work demands. Cynicism affected team communication, which in turn was positively related to team efficacy, thus acting as a mediator. Finally, team efficacy was negatively related to infections. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that emotional exhaustion and cynicism were related to psychosocial aspects, which in turn had a significant impact on healthcare-associated infections. Our findings suggest how burnout can indirectly affect healthcare-related infections as a result of the quality of teamwork. Thus, reducing burnout can be a good strategy to decrease infections, thus increasing workers’ well-being while improving patient care.