Prevalence of burnout syndrome among Italian volunteers of the Red Cross: a cross-sectional study

Burnout syndrome (BOS) is a work-related constellation of symptoms characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. A cross-sectional survey was performed to study the prevalence of BOS among a randomly selected sample of 280 Italian Red Cross volunteers. A soci...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Industrial Health 2021, Vol.59(2), pp.117-127
Main Authors: CHIRICO, Francesco, CRESCENZO, Pietro, SACCO, Angelo, RICCÒ, Matteo, RIPA, Serena, NUCERA, Gabriella, MAGNAVITA, Nicola
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Burn out (Psychology)
Burnout
Burnout syndrome
Constellations
Cross-sectional studies
Demographic aspects
Depersonalization
Emergency care
Emergency medical care
Emergency medical services
Emotions
Health aspects
Mental health
Original
Psychological aspects
Red Cross
Risk factors
Statistics
Volunteer workers in medical care
Volunteers
Work environment
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Summary:Burnout syndrome (BOS) is a work-related constellation of symptoms characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. A cross-sectional survey was performed to study the prevalence of BOS among a randomly selected sample of 280 Italian Red Cross volunteers. A socio-demographic questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)-HSS were used to collect data. 241 volunteers participated (response rate: 86.1%). A significant proportion of the workers had BOS subscale scores in the highest tertile: emotional exhaustion 8.0%, depersonalization 35.9% and perceived lack of accomplishment 23.5%, respectively. Volunteers in emergency care reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion (p=0.004) and depersonalization (p=0.001), and lower level of personal accomplishment (p=0.042) than volunteers engaged in non-healthcare social and administrative duties. These findings support the opportunity of a set of administrative, organizational and individual preventive interventions for emergency volunteers’ mental health.
ISSN:0019-8366
1880-8026
DOI:10.2486/indhealth.2020-0246