Associations of burnout with job demands/resources during the pandemic in health workers from Southeast European countries

Dragan Mijakoski; Aneta Atanasovska; Dragana Bislimovska; Hana Brborović; Ognjen Brborović; Ljiljana Cvjeanov Kezunović; Milan Milošević; Jordan Minov; Buhara Önal; Nurka Pranjić; Liliana Rapas; Sasho Stoleski; Katya Vangelova; Roko Žaja; Petar Bulat; Aleksandar Milovanović; Jovanka Karadžinska-Bislimovska

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1258226

Associations of burnout with job demands/resources during the pandemic in health workers from Southeast European countries

Front Psychol. 2023 Oct 24:14:1258226. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1258226. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Dragan Mijakoski¹, Aneta Atanasovska¹, Dragana Bislimovska¹, Hana Brborović², Ognjen Brborović³, Ljiljana Cvjeanov Kezunović⁴, Milan Milošević², Jordan Minov¹, Buhara Önal⁵, Nurka Pranjić⁶, Liliana Rapas⁷, Sasho Stoleski¹, Katya Vangelova⁸, Roko Žaja², Petar Bulat⁹, Aleksandar Milovanović⁹, Jovanka Karadžinska-Bislimovska¹

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Occupational Health of RN Macedonia, World Health Organization Collaborating Center (WHO CC), Global Allergy and Asthma Excellence Network Collaborating Center (GA2LEN CC), Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Skopje, North Macedonia.
² Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Sports Medicine, School of Medicine, Andrija Štampar School of Public Health, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
³ Department of Social Medicine and Organization of Health Care, School of Medicine, Andrija Štampar School of Public Health, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
⁴ Department of Family Medicine, Medical Faculty Podgorica, University of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro.
⁵ International Commission on Occupational Health National Secretary (ICOH NS) for Turkey, Ankara, Türkiye.
⁶ Department of Occupational Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Tuzla, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
⁷ Directorate of Public Health Bucharest, Ministry of Health, Bucharest, Romania.
⁸ Department of Health at Work, National Center of Public Health and Analyses, Sofia, Bulgaria.
⁹ Faculty of Medicine, Serbian Institute of Occupational Health, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.

Abstract

Introduction: Despite several studies assessing job demands and burnout in countries from the Southeast European (SEE) region, there is still a lack of data about the psychological impact of the pandemic on health workers (HWs).

Aims: The present study aimed to demonstrate and compare levels of burnout dimensions in HWs from SEE countries and to reveal the burnout-job demands/resources relationships in these workers during the pandemic.

Materials and methods: During the autumn of 2020, this online multicentric cross-sectional survey studied a large group (N = 4.621) of HWs working in SEE countries. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used for the measurement of burnout dimensions. We analyzed the job demands by using the Hospital Experience Scale. Remuneration and relationships with superiors were measured using the Questionnaire sur les Ressources et Contraintes Professionnelles (English version).

Results: A series of ANOVA comparisons of means revealed the countries in which respondents showed higher mean values of emotional exhaustion (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Montenegro, and North Macedonia) and the countries in which respondents showed lower mean values of this burnout dimension (Israel and Romania) (Welch F = 17.98, p < 0.001). We also found differences among HWs from different countries in job demands and job resources. The testing of hierarchical regression models, which have been controlled for certain confounding factors, clearly revealed that emotional exhaustion was predicted by job demands (R² = 0.37) and job resources (R² = 0.16).

Conclusion: Preventive measures for the improvement of mental health in HWs during the pandemic and beyond have to take into account the differences between countries regarding the country context and current scientific knowledge. A modified stress test should be implemented in hospitals regarding future shocks that might include new pandemics, terrorism, catastrophes, or border conflicts.

Keywords: burnout; health workers; job demands; occupational health; pandemic.

Copyright © 2023 Mijakoski, Atanasovska, Bislimovska, Brborović, Brborović, Cvjeanov Kezunović, Milošević, Minov, Önal, Pranjić, Rapas, Stoleski, Vangelova, Žaja, Bulat, Milovanović and Karadžinska-Bislimovska.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.