Forecasting, diagnosis and prevention of occupational burnout, anxiety levels and coping strategies among medical workers in high-epidemic risk situations
Authors:   Samara State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Babanov S. A. , Ostryakova N. A. ,   Samara State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation
Published: February 2025

Introduction. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, average medical workers
turned out to be the most vulnerable category among medical workers in terms of profes
sional stress, professional burnout, and a decrease in quality of life. Goal. To establish the
features of professional burnout, the level of anxiety, coping strategies implemented and the
quality of life in specialized «red zone» hospitals, multidisciplinary hospitals (MP hospitals),
as well as polyclinics (PCs) during the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19.
Material and methods. The study was performed at the Department of Occupational Diseases
and Clinical Pharmacology named after the Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation,Professor V. V. Kosarev of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of the Ministry
of Health of the Russian Federation and the Regional Center of Occupational Pathology of
the Samara City Hospital No. 5. The following MS groups were examined: the first group
consisted of nurses working in the «red zone» (MS working in the «red zone») (n=29); the
second group consisted of nurses working in a multidisciplinary hospital (MS working in an
MP hospital) (n=31); the third group consisted of nurses working in polyclinics (MS working
in a polyclinic) (n=29); the fourth, control group (GC), included employees of engineering,
technical and economic specialties not related to work in medical organizations (n=190). The
assessment of the professional burnout syndrome was carried out using the questionnaire
on the assessment of professional burnout «Maslac burnout» developed by American psy
chologists S. Maslach, S. E. Jackson in adaptation by N. E. Vodopyanova, E. S. Starchenkova,
as well as the questionnaire by V. V. Boyko. The study used an integrative anxiety test (ITT) to
study the formation of psychoemotional disorders in internists during the pandemic of a new
coronavirus infection. Evaluation of coping strategies among internists during the pandemic
of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19 was carried out according to the methodology
developed by R. Lazarus and S. Folkman in 1988, adapted by E. V. Kuftyak. The quality of
life was determined using the SF-36 questionnaire. The processing of the obtained data was
carried out using the Statistica statistical package from StatSoft (USA).
Results. It has been established that the work of MS during the COVID-19 pandemic is as
sociated with the impact on medical workers of a number of specific risk factors related to
the provision of medical care to infected patients, as well as with significant changes in work
regarding aspects related to organization, safety, which contribute to an increase in the level
of occupational stress, professional burnout, and a decrease in the quality of life.
Conclusion. The work of MS in a COVID hospital, when compared with SMS, working in MP
hospitals, nurses working in polyclinics, is associated with an increase in the level of profes
sional stress, the level of professional burnout, the level of anxiety, an increase in the use of
coping strategies, a decrease in the quality of life. It is necessary to continue research on the
emotional state of MS in order to timely carry out preventive treatment to preserve the health
of this category of medical workers.