Background: Burnout is a significant occupational problem among oncology nurses, affecting their physical and mental health and the quality of medical care. Besides, there is a gradually increasing trend that we should pay more attention to.
Objectives: To investigate the prevalence, influencing factors and interventions of oncology nurses' burnout among different continents.
Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Data sources: English literature in PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE/EBSCOhost, CINAHL Complete and Web and of Science were searched before 1 March 2022.
Results: Twenty studies included 5904 oncology nurses in this review. Meta-analysis was performed in 19 of the studies. First, the pooled mean scores estimate for emotional exhaustion (EE) was 22.13 (95% CI: 19.69-24.58), depersonalization (DP) was 6.89 (95% CI: 5.67-8.10) and personal accomplishment (PA) was 32.86 (95% CI: 29.34-36.37). A high level of burnout was defined as a high level of EE (score ≥ 27), a high level of DP (score ≥ 10), and a low level of PA (score ≤ 33). Of these, 36.40% of nurses reported high EE, 28.26% reported high DP and 28.68% reported low levels of PA. Furthermore, there are differences in the prevalence, influencing factors and intervention measures of burnout among oncology nurses in different regions. The highest pooled mean scores for EE and DP were found in Asia. And the highest pooled mean scores for PA were found in the Americas. The factors that influence burnout among Asian oncology nurses are mostly personal-related factors such as empathy and personality traits, while the factors that influence burnout among European oncology nurses are work-related factors. This review included three intervention studies from Europe and the Americas, with fewer intervention studies on burnout in oncology nurses in Asia.
Conclusion: Oncology nurses in Asia had the highest pooled mean scores for EE and DP, and the highest mean scores for the PA pool in the Americas. There are regional differences in the prevalence and factors influencing burnout among oncology nurses, but there are few interventions for it. Therefore, future interventions should be developed to address the differences that exist in different regions.
Relevance to clinical practice: Burnout among oncology nurses in different regions is a concern, and this review may provide a reference for managers to target interventions to alleviate burnout among oncology nurses.
Keywords: burnout; meta-analysis; oncology nurse; systematic review.
© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.