Regular and healthy nutrition and good sleep quality reduce the level of occupational burnout of nursing staff working with patients with mental disorders – an observational study

Background. Mental health nurses are burdened with risk of occupational burnout. They are exposed to severe psychological stress because they often encounter violence, assaults, beatings, suicides, patient escapes and other difficult situations in their work.Aim of the study. Analysis of occupational burnout and severity of depression symptoms among nurses working with patients with mental disorders. Material and methods. In 2022, 106 members of the nursing staff working with patients with mental disorders were examined. The Maslach Burnout Inventory Questionnaire and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were used.Results. Respondents showed high levels of emotional exhaustion (43; 40.57%), depersonalization (30; 28.30%) and lack of personal achievement (60; 56.60%). The group of 30.19% (n=32) had symptoms of severe depression. The higher level of depression, the higher level of emotional exhaustion (r= 0.554, p<0.001). The higher level of depersonalization (r= 0.499, p<0.001), the lower level of job satisfaction (r= -0.59, p<0.001). The people with very good or good sleep quality had higher level of job satisfaction (p=0.001), lower level of emotional exhaustion (p<0.001) and depersonalization of (p=0.006) in contrast to people with bad quality of sleep. People who had eaten unhealthy food, had higher level of emotional exhaustion (p=0.02) and depersonalization (p=0.006), and lower level of job satisfaction (p=0.019) in contrast to people who had eaten healthy food. Conclusions. Healthy, regular nutrition and good quality of sleep appeared to be key determinants that reduce the level of occupational burnout. The results show how important are these factors in prevention.