Levels of burnout amongst nursing and caring staff in Maltese long-term care facilities

Abstract

Healthcare professionals, including nurses and carers, are responsible in providing care to older individuals living in long-term care facilities. As a result of the progressively growing aging population, the number of older people who require admission in long-term care institutions is constantly increasing. This study aims to investigate the levels of burnout amongst healthcare professionals working in two long-term care facilities in Malta and the relationship between burnout and factors including professional background and type of institution and socio-demographic variables including gender, age and education. Two instruments were used to analyse gathered data, including a demographic questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey for Medical Practitioners (MBI-HSS (MP)). The final sample for this study consisted of 67 respondents. The incidence of burnout according to professional background, type of institution, gender, age and education was described. In this study, 16% of respondents claimed average level of burnout, 27% claimed high levels of burnout and 57% claimed low levels of burnout. The findings of this study showed that the prevalence of burnout increases with age, that nurses were more likely to report burnout than carers, that female healthcare professionals reported higher burnout than their male counterparts and that the healthcare professionals with the highest level of education were more prone to burnout than those with lower levels of education. This study aims to provide more information on burnout and its contributing factors and hopes to help provoke the development of policies for the detection, treatment and prevention of burnout amongst this group.