Burnout and perceived social support: The mediating role of secondary traumatization in nurses vs. physicians

AIMS

The study aimed to examine differences between paediatric nurses and physicians regarding burnout syndrome, secondary traumatic stress (STS) and perceived social support (PSS).

BACKGROUND

Paediatric nurses and physicians encounter cumulative effects of treating sick and injured children and helping their families, in situations that might promote burnout and STS.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional design.

METHOD

Nurses (n = 158) and physicians (N = 76) completed self-report questionnaires on STS, PSS and burnout.

RESULTS

Nurses and physicians had similar rates of STS and burnout but showed significant differences in PSS. Furthermore, STS mediated the association between PSS and burnout for both groups; however, the effect was stronger for nurses in comparison to physicians.

CONCLUSION

Paediatric nurses and physicians would benefit from participating in interventions geared towards reducing STS, thus minimizing burnout. Moreover, advocating social support within the organization is needed to bolster the ability for coping with sources of stress.

IMPACT STATEMENT

Nurses' and physicians' involvement in the physical, physiological and mental needs of their paediatric patients might lead to burnout and secondary traumatic stress (STS). However, research on social support in the context of burnout and STS among nurses and physicians is scant. Secondary traumatic stress and burnout were similar for nurses and physicians, though perceived social support (PSS) was higher for nurses. Secondary traumatic stress plays a mediating role in the association between PSS and burnout among nurses and physicians. However, the mediation effect was stronger for nurses. Policy makers would be wise to advocate institutional stress management interventions to reduce secondary traumatic and to reinforce organizational support for nurses and physicians.

Associations between confidentiality requirements, support seeking and burnout among university hospital physicians in Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Italy (the HOUPE study)

Concerns about protecting patient's privacy are experienced as a limitation in the opportunity to obtain and utilize social support by many physicians. As resources of social support can modify the process of burnout, patient confidentiality may increase risk of this syndrome by interfering with proper stress adaptation. This study investigates if experiencing limitations in seeking social support due to confidentiality concerns are associated with burnout. University hospital physicians in four European countries completed measures of burnout, (Index) of Confidentiality as a Barrier for Support (ICBS), and factors of social resources and job demands. Linear regression analysis showed that ICBS was significantly associated with the burnout dimension of Exhaustion and not with Disengagement. These findings were present when controlling for factors known to diminish or increase the likelihood of burnout. These results are the first to demonstrate that patient confidentiality is associated with burnout in the process of stress management among physicians.