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. 2021;40(11):5763-5771.
doi: 10.1007/s12144-021-01781-w. Epub 2021 Apr 23.

Coronavirus stress and COVID-19 burnout among healthcare staffs: The mediating role of optimism and social connectedness

Murat Yıldırım  1   2 , İlhan Çiçek  3 , Mehmet Emin Şanlı  4
Affiliations

Coronavirus stress and COVID-19 burnout among healthcare staffs: The mediating role of optimism and social connectedness

Murat Yıldırım et al. Curr Psychol. 2021.

Abstract

Coronavirus stress has been associated with undesirable mental health and well-being outcomes, including burnout. However, little is known about the underlying mechanism of change. The present study aimed to examine if optimism and social connectedness mediated the relationship between coronavirus stress and COVID-19 burnout in a large sample of healthcare staffs. Participants included 1046 healthcare staffs (56.8% females) aged 20-61 years (mean age = 30.29 years, SD = 7.80), who completed the measures of coronavirus stress, optimism, social connectedness, and COVID-19 burnout. Females reported more coronavirus stress and burnout and less social connectedness. People confirmed with COVID-19 reported lower optimism. The results indicated that coronavirus stress did not only have a direct effect on increased COVID-19 burnout but also had an indirect effect on it through reduced optimism and social connectedness. These results are important given the shortage of intervention efforts targeting coronavirus stress. Future intervention efforts aimed at reducing coronavirus stress and related outcomes may benefit from simultaneously focusing on optimism and social connectedness.

Keywords: COVID-19 burnout; Coronavirus stress; Healthcare staffs; Optimism; Social connectedness.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestThe authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Structural model depicting the associations between the variables. Note. **p < .001
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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