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. 2025 May 21;17(5):e84555.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.84555. eCollection 2025 May.

The Prevalence of Burnout and Mental Health Symptoms Among ICU Professionals in Greece: A National Comparative Study Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Pre-pandemic Eras

Varvara Pakou  1 , Ioannis Andrianopoulos  1 , Mary Gouva  2 , Elena Dragioti  2 , Fotios Tatsis  3 , Georgios Papathanakos  1 , Asimenia Ntantana  4 , Eleni Antoniadou  5 , Fotini Fligou  6 , Eirini Papageorgiou  7 , Vasiliki Chantziara  8 , Evaggelia Koutra  9 , Ourania Mousafiri  10 , Sofia Asoniti  11 , Georgios Sidiras  12 , Angeliki Giamarelou  13 , Maria Nakou  14 , Andreas Petsas  15 , Athanasia Tsirogianni  16 , Konstantinos Nianiopoulos  17 , Eleni Papandreou  18 , Aikaterini Panagiotakopoulou  19 , Vasilios Koulouras  1
Affiliations

The Prevalence of Burnout and Mental Health Symptoms Among ICU Professionals in Greece: A National Comparative Study Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Pre-pandemic Eras

Varvara Pakou et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to assess the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on burnout, mental health, and spirituality/religiosity among ICU professionals. Methods A multicenter, national, cross-sectional study was conducted in 31 adult ICUs across Greece. A compilation of three questionnaires assessing responders' level of burnout [Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)], responders' spirituality and religious attitudes [Spiritual and Religious Attitudes Questionnaire (SpREUK)], and finally, responders' mental health [Symptom Checklist 90-R (SCL-90)] was distributed to ICU professionals in 2022. Responses were compared to those of a similar cohort of ICU professionals who had responded before the pandemic (2015). Results Overall, 1,013 ICU professionals participated (440 from the pre-pandemic period and 573 from the pandemic period). The prevalence of burnout increased during the pandemic (35.95 ±16.11%) compared to the pre-pandemic (30.62 ±15.39%, p<0.001) period. In particular, ICU professionals during the pandemic period scored worse across all three burnout categories: emotional exhaustion (25.80 ±10.93 vs. 22.27 ±10.96, p<0.001), depersonalization (10.40 ±6.51 vs. 8.68 ±6.25, p<0.001), and personal accomplishment (31.36 ±8.63 vs. 35.06 ±7.50, p<0.001) compared to the pre-pandemic period. In addition, during the pandemic period, participants reported experiencing more mental health symptoms and had a higher Global Severity Index (0.56 ±0.44 vs. 0.913 ±0.73, p<0.001), indicating a decline in mental health. Finally, participants during the pandemic era scored worse in the spirituality scale (overall score: 36.20 ±12.54 vs. 39.11 ±12.34, p<0.001), a significant mechanism associated with resilience and burnout risk factor. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased burnout, worsened mental health, and reduced spirituality among ICU professionals in Greece. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted national and international policies and interventions to support the well-being and resilience of frontline healthcare workers.

Keywords: burnout; covid-19; intensive care; mental health; spirituality.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Institutional Review Board of University Hospital of Ioannina issued approval 1050/2021. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

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