Burnout syndrome among nurses in a psychiatric hospital in Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Background: Burnout syndrome (BOS) is a serious issue among nurses due to chronic exposure to work-related stress. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of BOS among psychiatric nurses in a hospital in Saudi Arabia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 395 nurses were included through simple random sampling at a psychiatric hospital. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to measure the burnout. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with BOS among nurses. Results: The mean age of the participants was 35.43 ± 7.04 years. Most study participants were married (69.1%) Saudi (74.7%) males (68.4%), and the average time of service in the hospital was 13 years. Most of the participants (82.3%) had burnout, ranging from mild to very severe. After adjustment for covariates, we found that severe BOS was reported among Saudi nurses (odds ratio OR 3.28 and confidence interval CI 1.28–8.37) and among ex-smokers (OR 4.9, CI 1.39–17.5). Single participants reported moderate BOS (OR 2.37 and CI 1.19–4.72). These values were statistically significant. Conclusions: BOS is prevalent among psychiatric nurses. The most common factors associated with BOS were Saudi nationality, single status, and being an ex-smoker. There is a need for counseling services for nurses to address this issue.