Evaluation Of Psychological Distress, Emotional Burnout Symptoms And Perceived Barriers To Seek Professional Help Among Healthcare Professionals In Kuala Lumpur Hospital
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Date
2018-08
Authors
Lee, Lenny Cheann
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
The level of psychological distress and emotional burnout is high worldwide among the healthcare professionals working in a hospital setting and this occurrence may impact professional productivity, patient satisfaction, mental health and medical errors. The objectives of this study are to: (1) evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with psychological distress and emotional burnout among healthcare professionals, and (2) explore the perceived barriers to seek for professional psychological help by healthcare professionals working in a tertiary public hospital. A sequential two-phase research design was used to achieve the objectives. In Phase I of the study, BDI (Beck Depression Inventory), BAI (Beck Anxiety Inventory), and the MBI-HSS (Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Service Survey) were used in a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. In Phase II, a qualitative study using semi-structured and individual in-depth interviews was conducted. The questionnaire was completed by 277 healthcare professionals who comprise of doctors and pharmacists. Findings from phase I show that healthcare professionals are experiencing prevalence of emotional burnout 33.6% (95% CI: 28.0 - 39.0) and depressive 14.4% (95% CI: 10.0 - 19.0) symptoms. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms was 6.1% (95% CI: 3.0 - 9.0). Individuals who are single, with low household income, not physically active, with frequent on-call duties, dissatisfied with patients’ behaviour and experienced emotional abuse from superiors and colleagues are more likely to experience psychological distress and emotional burnout. In Phase II qualitative study, 16 healthcare professionals participated in the interviews. Interviews were conducted using an interview guide and responses were audio-tape recorded, transcribed verbatim, checked, and analysed using the grounded theory approach. A total of 15 themes and subthemes were identified within each domain on the barriers faced by health professionals to seek for professional help for psychological problems. The following five themes are the dominant barriers perceived by health professionals: perceived mental health is difficult to seek help, time and professional responsibility, career implication, stigmatization and unsupportive superiors. In addition, confidentiality was identified as the major concern for health professionals’ willingness to accept the professional support programme. In conclusion, the health professionals in Kuala Lumpur tertiary public hospital are experiencing a high level of emotional burnout. However, due to professional identity, they are hindered by specific perceived barriers to seeking professional help to address these psychological issues. The barriers identified can be used to focus on the development of an effective programme to reduce psychological distress and burnout levels among health professionals in public healthcare practice in Malaysia.
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Keywords
Psychology