Depression and Burnout Frequency in Nurses Working in Tertiary Intensive Care Units

Objective: Emotional and physical burden is heavy in the intensive care unit (ICU) employees, and the risk of burnout has significantly increased. The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency of burnout and depression in nurses serving in tertiary ICUs in a university hospital by questionnaire. Material and Methods: The questionnaire study was conducted on nurses studying actively in Dokuz Eylül University School of Medicine Anesthesia and Internal Medicine ICU between 22-26 August 2016. Burnout was assessed by Maslach Burnout Scale (MBS) and depression with Beck Depression Scale (BDS). Results: According to the BDS score, 29 nurses (58%) noted various degrees of depression from mild mood to severe depression. According to MBS, 6 of the nurses (12%) had a moderate risk of emotional exhaustion (DT) while 43 (86%) had a high risk. In terms of depersonalization (D), it was found that nurses had a moderate risk of 15 (30%) and a high risk of 22 (44%). There was a positive but weak correlation between duration of study and D in ICU (r=0.349, p=0.014). Nurses with no depression were found to have a a statistically significantly lower risk for DT (p=0.006) and personal failure (PF) (p=0.022). Conclusion: In this study, it was seen that the questionnaire evaluation of nurses working in the tertiary ICU showed a great deal of risk of depression and burnout. We believe that taking environmental, managerial and institutional measures and regular monitoring to reduce occupational risks and improve working conditions will reduce both depression and burnout frequency in this profession group.