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. 2022 Sep 2;22(1):1115.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08409-0.

Burnout, stress and resilience of an Australian regional hospital during COVID-19: a longitudinal study

Samantha J Armstrong  1   2 , Joanne E Porter  3 , Jo-Ann Larkins  3 , Christopher Mesagno  4   3
Affiliations

Burnout, stress and resilience of an Australian regional hospital during COVID-19: a longitudinal study

Samantha J Armstrong et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has placed huge strain on hospital staff around the world. The aim of the current longitudinal study was to investigate the resilience, stress and burnout of hospital staff located at a large, regional hospital in Victoria, Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic over time via cross-sectional surveys. The surveys were disseminated six times from August 2020 to March 2021, with the first three data collection points distributed during a state-wide lockdown. A total of 558 responses from various professional roles within the hospital over the survey period were included in the sample. Analysis of variance indicated significant main effects for the psychological variables across time, age, and workload. Hospital staff reported an increase in burnout levels throughout the eight-months. Significant negative relationships were observed between resilience and burnout, and between resilience and stress. A backward regression highlighted the contribution of resilience, stress, age, and nursing roles on burnout. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that resilience contributed to the stress-burnout relationship. This study strengthens the evidence between resilience and burnout among healthcare workers and hospital staff and highlights the need for psychological wellbeing programs to be implemented for hospital staff impacted by a prolonged worldwide pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Hospital; Nursing; Psychological resilience; Stress resilience.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Timeline of study. Red dotted line denotes time in lockdown
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mean scores for resilience, stress and burnout over time. Red dotted line denotes time in lockdown
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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