Exploring Physical and Biological Manifestations of Burnout and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Healthcare Workers: A Scoping Review Protocol
Authors: Kottler Janey , Gingell Monica J. , Khosla Shaveta , Kordzikowski Mitchell , Raszewski Rebecca , Chestek David , Maki Katherine A. 
Published: April 2023

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has strained the mental and physical well-being of healthcare workers (HCW). Increased work-related stress and limited resources has increased symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in this population. Stress-related disorders have been strongly associated with long-term consequences including cardiometabolic disorders, endocrine disorders and premature mortality. This scoping review aims to explore available literature on burnout, PTSD, and other mental health-associated symptoms in HCW to synthesize relationships with physiological and biological biomarkers that may be associated with increased risk of disease, creating an opportunity to summarize current biomarker knowledge and identify gaps in this literature.

Methods and Analysis

This scoping review uses the Arksey and O’Malley six-step scoping review methodology framework. The research team will select appropriate primary sources using a search strategy developed in collaboration with a health sciences librarian. Three reviewers will initially screen the title and abstracts obtained from the literature searches, and two reviewers will conduct independent reviews of full-text studies for inclusion. The research team will be reviewing literature focusing on which burnout and/or PTSD-associated physiological and biological biomarkers have been studied, the methodologies used to study them and the correlations between the biomarkers and HCW experiencing burnout/PTSD. Data extraction forms will be completed by two reviewers for included studies and will guide literature synthesis and analysis to determine common themes.

Ethics and Dissemination

This review does not require ethical approval. We expect results from this scoping review to identify gaps in the literature and encourage future research regarding improving biologic and physiologic biomarker research in HCW. Preliminary results and general themes will be communicated back to stakeholders. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, and conferences, as well as presented to stakeholders to an effort to invest in HCW mental and physical health.

Strengths and Limitations of This Study

This will be the first scoping review to assess the current understanding of the biologic and physiological impact of burnout on healthcare workers. The target population is restricted to healthcare workers; however, identified research gaps may be used to guide future studies in other high-burnout occupations and industries.

This scoping review will be guided by the Arksey and O’Malley six-step methodological framework and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Review checklist.

Both peer reviewed manuscript and pre-prints/abstracts will be evaluated, but studies that have not been peer reviewed will be notated in the summary table. Conference abstracts are excluded.

Preliminary and final themes and results identified by this scoping review will be communicated to stakeholders, including hospital staff and HCW, to ensure agreement with our interpretation and to convey knowledge gained with our population of interest.

This review will advance the field’s current understanding of mechanisms connecting the burnout and pathogenic stress to biologic and physiologic outcomes in healthcare workers and provide researchers with gaps in the literature to inform opportunities for future research.