Evaluation of burnout levels among healthcare staff in anesthesiology departments in GreeceIs there a connection with anxiety and depression?

Introduction: Healthcare workers in anesthesiology departments often experience burnout syndrome, which may be combined with anxiety and depression. Aim: The study aimed to assess the levels of burnout among nurses and physicians working in anesthesiology departments in public hospitals in Attica and to investigate a possible correlation between burnout, anxiety, and depression. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on physicians and nurses working in anesthesiology departments in public hospitals in Attica, Greece. A questionnaire was distributed electronically using the snowball sampling method, including questions about demographic characteristics, burnout, anxiety, and depression. Results: Physicians and nurses in anesthesiology departments were found to have moderate levels of burnout, and normal/low levels of anxiety and depression. More specifically, it was found that 2% of physicians and 14.4% of nurses had extremely elevated levels of burnout. On the other hand, 6.1% of physicians and 23.7% of nurses had high anxiety, while 6.1% of physicians and 15.5% of nurses had elevated levels of depression. Females (p = 0.008), staff aged 45-55 (p = 0.021), lower educational level (p = 0.025), nurses (p = 0.001), more than 21 years of service ( p = 0.001), and having children ( p = 0.008) were determinants of greater levels personal burnout. Work-related burnout correlated with having children ( p = 0.017), whereas client related burnout was significantly higher for nurses ( p = 0.002). In addition, a correlation was found between anxiety, depression, and increased levels of burnout ( p = 0.000). Conclusions: As physicians and nurses working in anesthesiology departments have stressful jobs and work long hours, important to further study their physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion as well as psychological resilience levels.