Emotional burnout among medical stuff of a neurosurgery center: analysis of prevalence, structure and risk factors

Abstract

Aim. To determine the prevalence and risk factors of emotional burnout among medical workers of a neurosurgery center. Materials and methods. In 2022–2024, a prospective study of the medical staff involved in emergency care for patients with acute ischemic stroke, in particular mechanical thrombectomy, was conducted at the Center for X-ray Endovascular Neurosurgery of Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No. 1. The mean age of the sample was 32.2 ± 5.8 years. The sex structure was: 40 (80.0 %) men and 10 (20.0 %) women. The clinical-psychopathological, psychodiagnostic and statistical methods were used. The psychodiagnostic method was implemented by using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI, C. Maslach et al., 1997). Results. It has been determined that such a criterion as the sex of neurosurgery center medical staff did not affect the severity of any component of emotional burnout (p > 0.05). Statistically significant differences in the prevalence of high rates of emotional burnout components have been found between groups of medical staff with different specializations. Namely, it has been revealed that working in the center as a neurosurgeon was significantly associated with high rates of such components as “Emotional exhaustion” (p = 0.04) and “Depersonalization” (p = 0.006). A direct correlation has also been established between the total work experience, length of service at the neurosurgery center and the number of working hours per month with the intensity of emotional burnout manifestations in the selected contingent of individuals. Conclusions. The prevalence of emotional burnout among medical staff of the neurosurgery center has been established for various components of this phenomenon: “Emotional exhaustion” – 52.0 %, “Depersonalization” – 40.0 %, “Reduction of personal achievements” – 50.0 %, indicating a high level of stress and negatively affecting the mental health of the selected contingent. The risk for developing emotional burnout among the medical staff rises with increasing workload, length of service and work experience at the center. An absolute risk factor for emotional burnout is a neurosurgical practice. The development of psychotherapeutic measures aimed at overcoming the manifestations of emotional burnout in medical workers and increasing their resilience to stressful working conditions of the neurosurgery center is promising.

Keywords

• emotional burnout
• neurosurgery
• medical professionals
• mental health
• psycholog