Fatigue levels and burnout among Polish infection control nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12923/pielxxiw-2025-0008Keywords:
burnout, fatigue, COVID-19, nurses, infection controlAbstract
FATIGUE LEVELS AND BURNOUT AMONG POLISH INFECTION CONTROL NURSES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Aim. The aim of the study was to assess the level of fatigue among Polish epidemiological nurses in relation to burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Material and methods. This study, completely voluntary and anonymous, used CIS20R and MBI-HSS (Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey) questionnaires sent electronically by provincial consultants to ICNs.
Results. Completed questionnaires were sent by 163 people, mostly (99.4%) women, working in public hospitals (78.5%), with higher education (77.3%) and work experience of over 30 years (52.8%). The majority, 60.7%, of the respondents declared a high overall fatigue index, and for its components: decreased motivation (70.6%) and concentration (77.9%). In the area of burnout, 65.0% of respondents declared a high level of emotional exhaustion. Statistical analysis showed that a high level of fatigue, both as a total indicator and in individual subdomains, significantly correlates with a greater risk of emotional exhaustion.
Conclusions. A high level of fatigue (expressed as a general index and individual components) and burnout were found among the surveyed ICNs. Our study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. It needs to be repeated in times free from such a particular epidemiological threat. Nevertheless, effective fatigue management through activities supporting the work environment should be quickly implemented.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Dorota Jaślan, Agnieszka Micek, Anna Nowacka, Tomasz Siewierski, Jadwiga Wójkowska-Mach, Anna Różańska (Autor)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
