OCCUPATIONAL BURNOUT, MENTAL HEALTH AND LIFE QUALITY OF NURSING STAFF IN HEALTH STRUCTURES IN GREECE: THE CASE OF IPPOKRATEIO GENERAL HOSPITAL OF THESSALONIKI

Abstract

Abstract: Occupational burnout syndrome is particularly common in nurses and is closely related to the quality of healthcare provided. Studying this phenomenon is particularly important, because the knowledge acquired will contribute to its deeper understanding and thus to its timely recognition and response. The purpose of the present study is to examine the occupational burnout of nurses through a qualitative methodology and semi-structured interviews with the nursing staff of Ippokrateio General Hospital of Thessaloniki. Through the analysis of the interviews the following issues were detected in every answer: fatigue (sub-topics: “physical fatigueâ€, “mental fatigue†and “pathological conditionâ€), working conditions causing dissatisfaction (sub-topics: “salaryâ€, “Excessive workloadâ€, “tasks not related to their work fieldâ€, “poor organizationâ€, “poor communicationâ€) and a condition that cannot be changed (sub-topics: “absence of collective action for the prevention of the problems†and “problem management on an individual levelâ€).

Keywords: Occupational burnout syndrome, nursing staff, mental health, quality of life.