AEGiS-09IAC: Work settings and client interaction as predictors for burnout among AIDS health care professionals.

9th International AIDS Conference


Berlin, Germany — June 6-11, 1993

Print this Article


Work settings and client interaction as predictors for burnout among AIDS health care professionals.

Int Conf AIDS 1993 Jun 6-11; 9:119 (abstract no. WS-D16-2)
Enzmann D, Gusy B, Kleiber D; Sozialpaedagogisches Institut Berlin, FRG.

OBJECTIVES: Hitherto results from qualitative research focus on the specific situation in the field of AIDS, e.g. the helping interaction or the characteristics of clients as major causes of caregivers' stress and burnout. In contrast, quantitative studies in the tradition of work psychology often come to the conclusion that burnout primarily is caused by institutional work setting factors such as time-pressure, lack of decision latitude, lack of feedback, and vague criteria of success. These factors are not specific for the AIDS health care system as such. To explain burnout among AIDS caregivers, in this study these two different approaches were tested empirically.

METHOD: In a three-wave longitudinal study a questionnaire was answered by 347 AIDS caregivers. The questionnaire contained the Maslach-Burnout-Inventory and scales to assess stress due to clients' behavior and death and dying of patients, stress due to time-pressure and low decision latitude (behavioral options) as well as vague criteria of success, lack of feedback and daily hassles. Using the data of the first two waves, the two approaches were tested empirically employing linear structural equations modeling.

RESULTS: Both models contain substantial information for the explanation of burnout among AIDS health care professionals; however, the second model (work setting factors) fits better to the data and explains more of the variance in burnout. Differences between the field of AIDS and other fields of health care are discussed.

CONCLUSION: A mixed model containing both patterns of stress is most appropriate to explain burnout among AIDS caregivers. To prevent burnout, emphasis should be laid on work setting factors.

Keywords: AEGIS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Health Personnel, Workplace, Interpersonal Relations, Caregivers, Anxiety Disorders, Questionnaires, Nurse-Patient Relations, Human, ICA9KWDaegis,acquiredimmunodeficiencysyndrome,healthpersonnel,workplace,interpersonalrelations,caregivers,anxietydisorders,questionnaires,nurse-patientrelations,human,ica9
930606
WSD162

Copyright © 1993 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.