The relationship between burnout and the safety and quality of patient care in private critical care units in Gauteng province

Abstract

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: Research recognises the clear links between nurses’ experience of professional burnout and the quality of the work environment. To that end it is extremely important for nurse managers to create an organisational climate that promotes the emotional stability of nurses. This could help to improve global patient safety by reducing the frequency of adverse events. Many of the factors commonly associated with burnout, also causes unsafe patient care, and poor quality of care. Effectively managing patient safety must be a priority in units where nurses face high pressure. Staff in critical care units (CCUs) spends a tremendous amount of time with people, including the patient, family members, physicians, and other members of the multidisciplinary team that might lead to emotional and physical exhaustion and burnout. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between nurse burnout and the safety and quality of patient care in private critical care units in Gauteng. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD: A quantitative correlational design was selected to address the research question at hand. A previously developed checklist was used to describe the demographic characteristics of the critical care units that participated in the study (n=31). A total of 298 critical care nurses participated in the study (n=298). Burnout among registered nurses working in these units was explored by means of the Maslach Burnout Inventory Scale (MBI). The registered nurses’ perceptions of the safety and quality of patient care in their units were explored by means of the RN4CAST questionnaire. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. FINDINGS: The mean scores for emotional exhaustion measured 2.69, for depersonalisation 1.55 and for personal accomplishment 4.43. From the mean scores of each of the sub–scales of the MBI it was evident that registered nurses working in private critical care units in Gauteng province did not experience burnout. The relationship between burnout and the safety and quality of patient care was investigated by means of a Spearman rank correlation coefficient. The results indicated that emotional exhaustion demonstrated a negative relationship with the quality of nursing care in the unit (r = –0.275; p=0.00), and patient safety in the unit (r = –0.245; p=0.00). Depersonalisation demostrated a negative relationship with the quality of care in the nursing unit (r = –0.249; p=0.00 and patient safety in the unit (r = –0.205; p=0.00). Personal accomplishment demonstrated a weak positive relationship with the quality of nursing care in the unit (r = 0.197; p=0.003) and a moderate positive relationship with patient safety in the unit (r = 0.204; p=0.00). The results demonstrated a relationship between burnout and the safety and quality of patient care in private critical care units in Gauteng.