Burnout of the Physiotherapists and Encountered Stress Factors Related to Corona Virus Epidemic in Turkey

Abstract

Purpose: The study aims to determine (1) risk factors related to stress due to pandemic, (2) the burnout levels of the physiotherapist, (3) the relationship between these parameters. Methods: One hundred two physiotherapists, whose sociodemographic information was obtained, were divided into 2 groups according to disease exposure (CoV and non-CoV group). Pandemic-Associated Stress Factors of the participants were analyzed and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to measure burnout. The Independent Sample T test was used to detect the difference between the groups. Pearson's correlation was used to find relations in parametres. Result: Ninety-six percent of respondents were concerned about getting infected and ninety-eight percent concerned about infecting their families. Most of the participants were physically and mentally tired (74.5%, 58.8%). The CoV group consisted of 45 (44.11%) physiotherapists who had a history of COVID-19, had patient contact, or worked with coronavirus patients. There was no significant difference in Maslach Burnout Inventory sub-parameters between the two groups (p<0.05). Physiotherapists with high exposure to Covid were found to have a 3.2 times higher level of stress about feeling compelled to go to work than those with low exposure to Covid (p=0.02). Conclusion: Anxiety about being sick and contagious can trigger psychological symptoms such as mental fatigue and sleep disturbance. Although the workload of the participants in our study did not increase, most of them stated that they felt physically exhausted. During the pandemic period, psychological diseases and burnout in healthcare workers increased tremendously.