Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Nov;94(5):1771-1778.
doi: 10.1038/s41390-023-02674-3. Epub 2023 Jun 10.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric healthcare burnout in acute care: a longitudinal study

Sarah R Martin  1   2   3 , Theodore Heyming  3   4 , Tricia Morphew  5   6 , Lois Sayrs  3   7 , Michelle A Fortier  1   2   3   8 , Terence Sanger  3 , Zeev N Kain  9   10   11
Affiliations

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric healthcare burnout in acute care: a longitudinal study

Sarah R Martin et al. Pediatr Res. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 pandemic introduced significant challenges that may have exacerbated healthcare worker (HCW) burnout. To date, assessments of burnout during COVID-19 pandemic have been cross-sectional, limiting our understanding of changes in burnout. This longitudinal study assessed change across time in pediatric HCW burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether demographic and psychological factors were associated with changes in burnout.

Methods: This longitudinal study included 162 physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and medical technicians within the emergency department (ED), intensive care, perioperative, and inter-hospital transport services in a children's hospital. HCW demographics, anxiety and personality traits were reported via validated measures. HCWs completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory in April 2020 and March 2021. Data were analyzed using generalized estimating equations.

Results: The percentage of HCWs reporting high emotional exhaustion and/or depersonalization burnout increased significantly across time (18.5% to 28.4%, P = 0.010). Factors associated with increased emotional exhaustion included working in the ED (P = 0.011) or perioperative department (P < 0.001), being a nurse or medical technician (P's < 0.001), not having children (P < 0.001), and low conscientiousness (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Pediatric HCW burnout significantly increased over 11-months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results suggest that certain demographic and psychological factors may represent potential area to target for intervention for future pandemics.

Impact: This longitudinal study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on pediatric healthcare worker burnout. The percentage of healthcare workers reporting high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization burnout increased significantly over 11-months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results suggest that certain demographic and psychological factors may represent potential targets for future interventions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Z.N.K. serves as a consultant for Edwards Lifesciences and Pacira and is the President of the American College of Perioperative Medicine. All other authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Change in burnout from emotional exhaustion and depersonalization evaluated categorically (Time 1 to Time 2), unadjusted.
GEE analyses with repeat measures specified determined significance of change, respectively. HCWs=Healthcare Workers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bodenheimer T, Sinsky C. From triple to quadruple aim: care of the patient requires care of the provider. Ann. Fam. Med. 2014;12:573–576. doi: 10.1370/afm.1713. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jun J, Ojemeni MM, Kalamani R, Tong J, Crecelius ML. Relationship between nurse burnout, patient and organizational outcomes: Systematic review. Int. J. Nurs. Stud. 2021;119:103933. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.103933. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kemper KJ, et al. Burnout in pediatric residents: three years of national survey data. Pediatrics. 2020;145:e20191030. doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-1030. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Shanafelt TD, et al. Burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance among US physicians relative to the general US population. Arch. Intern. Med. 2012;172:1377–1385. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.3199. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Buckley L, Berta W, Cleverley K, Medeiros C, Widger K. What is known about paediatric nurse burnout: a scoping review. Hum. Resour. Health. 2020;18:9. doi: 10.1186/s12960-020-0451-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types