Survey of burnout amongst drug and alcohol unit staff

Abstract EN

Background : Burnout has a special significance in healthcare where staff experience psychological, emotional and physical stress.

Burnout has major behavioral and health implications.

Objective : To evaluate the extent to which the staff employed in Drug and Alcohol Unit is affected by burnout.

Setting : Drug and Alcohol Unit, Psychiatric Hospital, Bahrain.

Design : The study is a cross-sectional survey, incorporating a standardized measurement of burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory: MBI).

Method : All staff in the Drug and Alcohol Unit (N = 31) were surveyed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire in October 2011.

Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is designed to assess the three components of the burnout syndrome: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment.

Result: Twenty-four (77.4 %) responded, their result indicates a medium level of burnout.

The degree of burnout among the staff working in the Drug and Alcohol Unit was low compared to the staff working in General Adult Psychiatry Unit.

Personal accomplishment was high in Drug and Alcohol compared to General Adult Psychiatry.

Conclusion: The degree of burnout as well as emotional exhaustion in the staff working in the Drug and Alcohol Unit was lower compared to the staff working in General Adult Psychiatry.

Dealing with patients’ psychological problems, feelings of isolation, lack of support, lack of reward, long hours of work and psychological morbidity leads to higher degree of burnout.