Results
A total of 322 surveys were submitted. Seven surveys had insufficient data for the first analysis and were removed. This resulted in completed questionnaires from 315 of 616 ED clinical staff at seven sites, a response rate of 51%. Table 1 provides participant baseline characteristics, along with the CISS and MBI scale results. Working conditions, location and place of origin are summarised in Table 2.
Results From Linear Regression on MBI Subscales
All effect sizes and SDs from the univariate and multivariate linear regression on the three MBI scales can be seen in Table 3 .
Coping Style as a Predictor of Burnout. Task or problem-focused coping was a significant univariate predictor of lower emotional exhaustion (effect=−0.25, p<0.001), lower depersonalisation (effect=−0.25, p<0.001) and higher personal accomplishment (effect=0.25, p<0.001). In the final multivariate models, task-oriented coping was only associated with higher personal accomplishment and thus lower levels of burnout (effect=0.21, p<0.001).
Emotion-oriented coping responses were significant univariate and multivariate linear predictors of higher emotional exhaustion (effect=0.22, p<0.001), higher depersonalisation (effect=0.18, p<0.001) and lower personal accomplishment (effect=−0.13, p<0.001).
There were no independent associations between burnout and avoidance-based coping strategies.
Demographic Predictors of Burnout. Emotional exhaustion was significantly associated with profession, length of employment in the same department and having experienced professional stress. Depersonalisation was also associated with length of employment in the same department, while personal accomplishment was associated with gender.
After correcting for other important factors, nurses had higher emotional exhaustion scores than support staff (effect=4.72, p=0.009), while nurses and physicians scores were comparable. Employees working 6–10 years had higher emotional exhaustion scores (effect=3.56, p=0.029) and higher depersonalisation scores (effect=4.55, p<0.001) than those working in the same department for less than 5 years. Similarly, those working 11–20 years in the same department had higher emotional exhaustion scores (effect=5.20, p<0.001) and depersonalisation scores (effect=2.52, p=0.01) than those working less than 5 years. Finally, males had higher personal accomplishment scores than females (effect=2.17, p=0.029).
There was no association between age, years of practice, relationship status, having close relationships, experiencing a personal stress, hospital environment (large vs small) or patient volume per year on any of the burnout scales.