Occupational Burnout of Healthcare Workers As a Consequence of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review in Scopus for 2024

Background. Stressful working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic have impaired the job performance and professional image of healthcare workers. A burnout syndrome is developed with the prevalence of alexithymia, depersonalization, distress, maladaptive types and forms of guilt, job dissatisfaction, work-related stress, professional deformations, reduced personal accomplishment, decline in activities of daily living, or emotional exhaustion.

Purpose. To investigate occupational burnout among healthcare workers as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods and materials. A meta-analysis of 102 foreign scientific articles published in the international scientific citation system Scopus on the ScienceDirect platform in 2024 was carried out. For the study purpose, 9 publications that had not previously been analyzed and translated into Russian were selected, systematized and classified by areas of research on occupational burnout of healthcare workers as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results. Three identified areas of research on occupational burnout of healthcare workers as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic were prioritized: 1) identification of occupational burnout of healthcare workers as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic (44.45%); 2) monitoring of occupational burnout of healthcare workers as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic (33.33%); 3) prevention of occupational burnout of healthcare workers as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic (22.22%).

1. Bizhanova E.A. The professional burnout syndrome of medical workers during a pandemic COVID-19. J Economy and Society. 2021;6-1(85):459-462. (In Russ.)

2. Sazonova O.V., Gavryushin M.Yu., Kuvshinova N.Yu., Ostryakova N.A., Babanov S.A. Occupational factors inducing the burnout syndrome in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Postgraduate Bulletin of the Volga Region. 2022;22(1):4-8. (In Russ.)

3. Bonkalo T.I., Polyakova O.B. Specifics of professional stress in health care workers in the post-COVID period. Problems of Social Hygiene, Public Health and History of Medicine. 2023;31(S2):1197-1201. http://dx.doi.org/10.32687/0869-866X-2023-31-s2-1197-1201 (In Russ.)

4. Solovieva A.N. Rate of professional burn out of medical workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. J StudNet. 2021;4(6):20-28. (In Russ.)

5. Petrikov S.S., Kholmogorova A.B., Suroegina A.Yu., Mikita O.Yu., Roy A.P., Rakhmanina A.A. Professional burnout, symptoms of emotional disorders and distress in medical workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy. 2020;28(2):8-45. https://doi.org/10.17759/cpp.2020280202 (In Russ.)

6. Polyakova O.B., Bonkalo T.I. Features of maladaptive forms and guilt types in medical workers over the post-COVID period. Health Care of the Russian Federation. 2023;67(5):430-435. https://doi.org/10.47470/0044-197X-2023-67-5-430-435 (In Russ.)

7. Pyura D.S. Alexithymia and professional burnout in health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Innovations. Science. Education. 2022;49:1932-1935. (In Russ.)

8. Zrazhevskaya M.S. The problem of professional burnout in health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bulletin of the Northern State Medical University. 2022;2(48):77-78. (In Russ.)

9. Polyakova O.B., Bonkalo T.I. Features of emotional manifestations of professional deformations (burnout) of healthcare workers in the post-COVID period. Problems of Social Hygiene, Public Health and History of Medicine. 2024;32(S2):1154-1159. http://dx.doi.org/10.32687/0869-866X-2024-32-s2-1154-1159 (In Russ.)

10. Arshkenov A.B., Seitbaeva M.A. Features of professional burnout of medical workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medicine and Ecology. 2022;1(102):25-29. (In Russ.)

11. Zavyalova I.Yu., Soldatova E.L. Features of professional burnout and job satisfaction of medical workers in conditions of prolonged influence of global risks. Tver State University Bulletin. Series: Pedagogy and Psychology. 2023;4(65):26-41. (In Russ.)

12. Yslado Mendez R.M., Sanchez-Broncano J., Mendoza Ramirez G.D., Villarreal-Zegarra D. Prevalence and factors associated with burnout syndrome in Peruvian health professionals before the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review. Heliyon. 2024;10(9):e30125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30125

13. Adnan N., Dafny H.A., Baldwin C., Beccaria G., Chamberlain D. Feasibility and acceptability of a realist-informed individualized psychosocial intervention to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 burnout in critical care healthcare professionals. Journal of Critical Care. 2024;81:154576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrc.2024.154576

14. Silveira I., Osório F., Loureiro S.R. The COVID-19 pandemic and the occupational overload of health professionals: indicators of burnout. Linking Neuroscience and Behavior in COVID-19. 2024;2(24):135-145.

15. Sanabria J., Avila S., Añazco P., Lopez L.F., Damen M.P., Aguayo A., Caballero R., Apelt F., Bianco H., Leguizamón B.F. Burnout syndrome among health care professionals of intensive care units after the COVID-19 pandemic, San Lorenzo, Paraguay. Journal of Critical Care. 2024;81:154612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrc.2024.154612

16. Pan W.W., Leziak K., Weizer J.S., John D.A., Zhang A.D. Burnout at a tertiary eye care center significantly higher after the start of COVID-19. AJO International. 2024;1:e100009.

17. Fond G., Smith L., Tran B., Lucas G., Nguyen T.T., Yon D.K., Boyer L. Unmasking the triad of burnout, absenteeism, and poor sleep among healthcare workers during the third wave of COVID-19 pandemics: results from the national AMADEUS study. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2024;355:247-253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.03.157

18. Collett G., Korszun A., Gupta A.K. Potential strategies for supporting mental health and mitigating the risk of burnout among healthcare professionals: insights from the COVID-19 pandemic. eClinicalMedicine. 2024;71:102562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102562

19. Reshetnikov A., Abaeva O., Prisyazhnaya N., Romanova T., Romanov S., Sobolev K., Manukyan A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on burnout levels among healthcare workers: a comparative analysis of the pandemic period and post-pandemic period. J Heliyon. 2024;10:e36769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36769

20. Sherman M., Klinenberg E. Beyond burnout: moral suffering among healthcare workers in the first COVID-19 surge. Social Science & Medicine. 2024;340:116471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116471

21. Verna V.V., Izzetdinova A.K. Prevention of professional burnout of medical workers during the COVID-19 coronavirus infection pandemic. Azimuth of Scientific Research: Economics and Administration. 2020;9(4):91–94. https://doi.org/10.26140/anie-2020-0904-0019 (In Russ.)

22. Sazonova O.V., Gavryushin M.Yu., Kuvshinova N.Yu., Ostryakova N.A., Babanov S.A. Professional burnout of medical workers in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic as a risk factor for mental health. J Science and Innovation in Medicine. 2023;8(1):39-44. https://doi.org/10.35693/2500-1388-2023-8-1-39-44 (In Russ.)

23. Polyakova O.B., Bonkalo T.I. Features of the profile of the professional crisis of medical workers with professional deformities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Сare of the Russian Federation. 2022;66(6):521-528. https://doi.org/10.47470/0044-197X-2022-66-6-521-528 (In Russ.)

24. Malyutina T.V., Tsygankova O.Yu., Lonskaya L.V. Professional burnout and its factors in health workers in a pandemic. Problems of Modern Pedagogical Education. 2021;72(1):382-384. (In Russ.)

25. Cherednichenko T.A. The relationship between the level of professional burnout and job satisfaction among medical workers with different socio-demographic characteristics. Omsk Scientific Bulletin. Series: Psychology. 2024;2:83-92. https://doi.org/10.24147/2410-6364.2024.2.83-92 (In Russ.)

26. Kuzmin S.A., Kuzmina T.S., Duisembayeva A.N. Prevalence of professional burnout syndrome in medical workers (according to the survey). Public Health and Health Care. 2024;2(81):5-10. (In Russ.)

27. Yarasheva A.V., Aleksandrova O.A., Markov D.I. The labor potential of medical workers: issues of professional burnout. J Regional Problems of Economic Transformation. 2024;4(162):164-172. https://doi.org/10.26726/1812-7096-2024-4-164-172 (In Russ.)

28. Rakhimov T.R. Ageism as a result of professional burnout of medical workers in healthcare and social services institutions. Topical Issues of Medical Science. 2024;1(2):86-87. (In Russ.)