Burnout Professional Fulfilment and Sleep Quality in Indian Healthcare Workers in Times of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Aim and Background: With more than 210 nations affected, the SARS-COV-2 became the most widespread worldwide pandemic. As of 14 April 2022, over 500 million cases were confirmed globally Given these numbers, it was hardly surprising that the Covid-19 epidemic significantly strained healthcare systems worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the degree of Burnout, Professional fulfilment, and Sleep quality across various groups of healthcare professionals working during the Covid-19 pandemic and looked for any correlation between these three variables.

Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional observational research design and gathered data from respondents across various regions of India through an anonymous online or paper-based questionnaire tailored to the preferences of each participating Healthcare Worker (HCW). The assessment of professional fulfilment was conducted by employing the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index and the sleep quality of healthcare workers was determined via the use of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The variables were analyzed using statistical tools; Chi-square test, Fisher’s Exact test,Kruskal-Wallis One Way Analysis of Variance and Spearman’s rank correlation

Results: Burnout was notably higher among the HCWs with poorer Sleep quality and lower in HCWs with higher Professional Fulfilment. Correlations further revealed that Burnout scores positively correlated with Work exhaustion and Interpersonal Disengagement

Conclusion: This illustrates that HCWs with poorer sleep quality and lesser professional fulfilment experienced greater burnout at work during the COVID-19 pandemic

Clinical significance: These insights guide healthcare providers and policy markers to optimize the well being of Healthcare Workers and foster informed preparedness in case of future pandemics.

Keywords: COVID-19, PSQI, HCW, SPFI, Burnout, Professional Fulfilment, Sleep Quality.