| dc.description.abstract | Burnout is a condition of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment (PA) that can occur among individuals who work with people in some capacity. Burnout is more prevalent in the helping professions, and high levels of burnout have been documented in all categories of nurses. A descriptive and analytical quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted to measure the level of burnout and its possible associated factors among nurses of two district hospitals in Kigali City. All 126 nurses working in the maternity and paediatric sections of Muhima and Kibagabaga District Hospitals were included in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and workplace information as well as responses to 22 questions in the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which assesses burnout along its three dimensions of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment. Descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean score, and standard deviation were computed for each burnout category and Chi-square test statistic was performed to test the relationship between burnout (dependent variable) and personal factors, workplace demands, and access to resources (independent variables); and between burnout and hospital and service (paediatric or maternity). Of the 126 questionnaires distributed, 102 (81%) were returned and useable for analysis. The average age of respondents was 29.7 years and female nurses represented the majority (88.2%) of our sample. Just over half (52.9%) were married and 53.9% had at least on child. The average years of experience as a nurse was 5.6 years, while the average years of experience in the hospital was 4 years. High burnout was found with high levels of EE in 43.1% of respondents, high levels of DP in 48.0%, and low level of PA in 34.3%. Burnout was associated with being young and inexperienced, having less training, having at least one child, working longer hours, experiencing workloads as demanding, poor perceived control of the work, perceived staff shortages and workplace conflicts. However, good communication, job satisfaction and trust in colleagues and in hospital management, appeared to be protective for all three dimensions of burnout. In conclusion, burnout was found to be associated with personal, workplace demands and environmental factors. Improvement of nursing work conditions, conflict prevention and improved communication between hospital managers and staff would be expected to prevent burnout among nurses working in paediatric and maternity wards of Muhima and Kibagabaga District Hospitals. | en_US |
