Emotional exhaustion and psychological distress among health care workers after the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake: Prevalence and associated factors

• Published in: American journal of orthopsychiatry 2024-09
• Main Authors: Akçay, Elif, Çöp, Esra, Senses Dinç, Gülser, Yılmazer, Yasemin, Bilgili Can, Duygu, Damla Demirel, Betül, Ayvalık Baydur, Ümran Gül
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Burnout; Disasters; Distress; Emotional Exhaustion; Female; Health Personnel; Human; Male; Nurses; Personnel; Resilience (Psychological)
• ISSN: 0002-9432; 1939-0025; 1939-0025
• DOI: 10.1037/ort0000792

Concerns about health workers' burnout and psychological well-being have increased as public health crises spread worldwide. This study aims to examine the burnout and psychological distress levels among health care professionals working in our children's hospital 1 month after the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake. A total of 213 health care workers (180 females, 84.5%, mean age 32.67) were included in the study. This cross-sectional study assessed burnout symptoms, psychological distress, and resilience via the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale-21, and the Brief Resilience Scale, respectively. A substantial number of participants ( = 117, 54.9%) reported high emotional exhaustion; approximately half of those were nurses ( = 56, 47.9%). The nurses had higher emotional exhaustion, depression, and stress scores as well as lower self-reported resilience scores than other health care assistants. Higher stress scores were associated with an increased likelihood of high emotional exhaustion, while having more work experience was a protective factor regarding the high emotional exhaustion of nurses. Our results showed that a significant proportion of health care workers had a high level of burnout. Frontline nurses as a group were at heightened risk for psychological distress and emotional exhaustion in the early stages of the disaster. Screening burnout and psychological distress in health care professionals is important for preventive strategies after the disaster. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).