Frontliners suffering burnout

Survey shows overworked health staff in dire need of help

AS Indonesia strives to get on top of the ever-climbing number of Covid-19 cases, 82% of physicians, nurses and other healthcare workers across the country have been suffering from moderate levels of burnout and chronic mental and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged and excessive stress, a recent survey revealed.

Experts have said the number is concerning and that health workers are in dire need of help, as burnout can affect their well-being and job performance.

“We have to be more vigilant because many health workers are already experiencing moderate burnout.

“Once it gets severe, it will be more difficult to treat,” dean of the

University of Indonesia’s (UI) School of Medicine Ari Fahrial Syam said on Friday.

The online survey was conducted by a research team from UI’s School of Medicine from June to August this year.

It involved a total of 1,461 medical workers comprising doctors, nurses, dentists, midwives, laboratory analysts and pharmacists aged 18 to 63 across 34 provinces.

The majority of respondents (82%) reported moderate levels of burnout according to the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which assesses emotional exhaustion, responses toward service, care and instruction and feelings of competence and successful achievement at the workplace.

Only 17% reported mild burnout and one per cent experienced severe burnout.

The survey also revealed that the risk of suffering from burnout increased by 1.39 to 1.66 times among general physicians and healthcare workers who handled Covid-19 patients.

“Among the symptoms of burnout are feeling overwhelmed and emotionally drained, the loss of empathy and reduced self-confidence, as well as physical symptoms such as feeling lethargic,” the head of UI’s research team, Dewi Soemarko, said.

She added that burnout among medical workers was caused by increased workloads and uncertainty during the pandemic.

Almost 50% of respondents said they had not experienced changes or reductions in working hours during the pandemic, while 74.53% said the health facility where they worked did not carry out routine swab tests.

Dewi said healthcare professionals should be aware that they were prone to burnout.

“They also have to know the symptoms so that they can immediately seek help and prevent the burnout from getting worse,” she noted. — The Jakarta Post/ANN