Factors Associated With Provider Burnout in the NICU

BACKGROUND: NICUs vary greatly in patient acuity and volume and represent a wide array of organizational structures, but the effect of these differences on NICU providers is unknown. This study sought to test the relation between provider burnout prevalence and organizational factors in California NICUs. METHODS: -test comparison of quartiles, univariable regression, and multivariable regression. RESULTS: = .03). In sensitivity analysis, nursing burnout was more sensitive to organizational differences than physician burnout in multivariable modeling, significantly associated with average daily admissions, late transfer proportion, nursing hours per patient day, and mortality per 1000 infants. Burnout prevalence showed no association with proportion of high-risk patients, teaching hospital distinction, or in-house attending presence. CONCLUSIONS: Burnout is most prevalent in NICUs with high patient volume and electronic health records and may affect nurses disproportionately. Interventions to reduce burnout prevalence may be of greater importance in NICUs with ≥10 weekly admissions.