Prevalence of occupational burnout: a cross-section analysis across hospital nursing professionals

This study aims to investigate the prevalence of occupational burnout among nursing professionals at Shkodra Regional Hospital and identify factors contributing to it. Specifically, the objectives include measuring the burnout rate within this population and analysing demographic and occupational factors that affect burnout levels. This cross-sectional, observational and analytical study used a semi-standardised questionnaire distributed to healthcare professionals over 7 months (Sep­tember 2024 – March 2025) at the Shkodra Regional Hospital, Albania. The Excel file obtained from Microsoft software underwent statistical processing in SPSS version 26.0 software. The Maslach Burnout Inventory test was subjected to an evaluation of its reliability and consistency with the Cronbach alpha test. The alpha value was found to be 0.79. The level of significance adopted was p<0.05. The mean age among 131 nurses was 35.35±10.37, with a minimum to maximum age of 18-64 years old. Almost 38.2% of the participants belong to the 26-35 age group, which is considered to be a relatively young demographic one. Burnout prevalence turned to be relatively high – 68.9% for 95% CI (59.4-75.3), where 22.3% exhibited high levels of emotional exhaustion, 45.4% of cases high depersonalisation and low personal accomplishment domen in 92.3%. The phenomenon of depersonalization, in combination with two other areas, is worthy of consideration, with a p-value was found to be less than 0.05. It is noteworthy that the majority of these workers, 62.6%, are engaged in shift work with a frequency of 6-10 days per month. Burnout syndrome presented a correlation with sociodemographic factors (marital status, and monthly income) as well as some of the work-related factors (shift work system, weekly working hours, days on shift, work experience, etc). The findings of this study give us a relatively high prevalence of burnout syndrome among the participants (68.9%). We recommend rapid intervention with different policies or strategies that should improve the reduction of burnout among nursing staff. In order to facilitate recovery, it is essential to address burnout, recognise signs of excessive physical fatigue, seek support from colleagues and therapists, set boundaries, and prioritise self-care.