The Role of Socio-Demographic Factors and Working Conditions in the Formation of the Professional Burden of Nursing Staff in Psychiatric Institutions

Background: effective psychiatric care involves maintaining the physical, psychological, social and economic well-being of the professionals providing it. Nursing staff of psychiatric institutions experience significant workloads associated with their professional activities.

The aim of the study was to identify the level of professional burden of nursing staff in psychiatric institutions and analyze its dependence on socio-demographic characteristics and working conditions for the implementation of health-preserving organizational and psychological measures.

Participants and Methods: 502 nurses of psychiatric institutions, divided into subgroups depending on the duration and intensity of activity. The «Questionnaire for Assessing the Burden of Psychiatric Institution Workers» was used to determine the characteristics indicating the presence of professional hardships.

Results: the work of mid-level medical personnel is characterized by high intensity. 46.41% work more than 40 hours per week. 88.85% combine three or more functions. The obtained indicators showed the average level of professional burden of psychiatric nurses. With an increase in the duration of work in psychiatric practice, the subjective feeling of deterioration in physical (p = 0.006) and mental well-being (p = 0.014) increases. This trend begins to be observed in mid-level medical personnel after 5 years of work and worsens over time. The intensity of contact with psychiatric patients is also associated with a feeling of physical ill-being. In addition, in nurses working more than 40 hours a week, the socio-psychological burden increases (p = 0.03).

Conclusions: when managing nursing staff to ensure high-quality and effective performance, it is necessary to take into account both socio-demographic factors (age, education, place of residence, marital status) and professional factors (length of service in psychiatric institutions, working hours associated with direct contact with patients, qualifications, etc.) that influence the formation of the professional burden of mid-level medical personnel.

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