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Burnout Among Inpatient Mental Health Professionals (MHPs) in a Post-COVID Crisis Era: The Impact of Acute Patient Contact as a Mediator

Buell, John
http://orcid.org/0009-0009-1379-2979
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=xupsy1713802071946999

Abstract Details

2024, Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, Psychology.
Burnout is a syndrome consisting of emotional exhaustion from one’s work, personal life, and/or client-specific content (Kristensen et al., 2005). Mental health professionals (MHPs) experience burnout more frequently when there is an increase in their frequency of patient contact, and inpatient working MHPs tend to experience higher rates of burnout compared to their outpatient working peers (Rupert & Morgan, 2005). The dramatic rise in demand for mental health treatment following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic for depression, anxiety, and suicidality (Ganesan et al., 2021) suggests that MHPs working in inpatient settings are experiencing higher rates of burnout in the post-COVID crisis era. This study examined whether patient contact frequency, contact with patients in crisis (i.e., acute patient contact frequency), and MHPs’ use of adaptive and maladaptive coping skills would influence burnout rates among MHPs working in inpatient settings. Sixty licensed MHPs working in correctional facilities, psychiatric hospitals, state hospitals, and substance use clinics completed self-report surveys measuring frequency of patient contact, burnout, and methods of coping. Results showed that patient contact frequency did not significantly predict burnout rates on the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). Thus, the proposed mediation analysis was not conducted to determine if acute patient contact frequency statistically explained the relationship between patient contact frequency and CBI scores. In addition, adaptive coping skill use (i.e., emotional support, positive reframing) was not significantly predictive of burnout scores on the CBI, while maladaptive coping skill use (i.e., substance use, denial) was significantly predictive of higher levels of burnout. Finally, 37% of MHPs in this study were at a moderate or high level of burnout, indicating that emotional exhaustion is common among inpatient working MHPs. These results suggest that although patient contact is not directly related to burnout, the high rates of burnout overall warrant additional research to assess additional work-specific characteristics for burnout risk in MHPs.
Jennifer Phillips, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Heather McCarren, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Kathleen Hart, Ph.D., ABPP (Committee Member)
55 p.
Mental Health; Psychology
Burnout; mental health professionals; COVID-19; coping, patient contact

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Buell, J. (2024). Burnout Among Inpatient Mental Health Professionals (MHPs) in a Post-COVID Crisis Era: The Impact of Acute Patient Contact as a Mediator [Doctoral dissertation, Xavier University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=xupsy1713802071946999

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Buell, John. Burnout Among Inpatient Mental Health Professionals (MHPs) in a Post-COVID Crisis Era: The Impact of Acute Patient Contact as a Mediator. 2024. Xavier University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=xupsy1713802071946999.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Buell, John. "Burnout Among Inpatient Mental Health Professionals (MHPs) in a Post-COVID Crisis Era: The Impact of Acute Patient Contact as a Mediator." Doctoral dissertation, Xavier University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=xupsy1713802071946999

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

xupsy1713802071946999
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© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Xavier University Psychology and OhioLINK.