Evaluation of Anxiety and Job Burnout among Nurses Working in Emergency Departments Affiliated with Zahedan University of Medical Sciences During COVID-19 Epidemic; A Cross-sectional Study

COVID-19 is a major occupational health challenge. People in many occupations are at high risk; there is no doubt that health personnel، especially emergency nurses، who are at the forefront of the fight against this disease، not only experience lots of stress at work but also have a high risk of infection، which in turn exposes them to psychological problems such as anxiety and burnout.

This cross-sectional study was performed in 2020، using census method، on all nurses working in the emergency rooms of hospital affiliated with Zahedan University of Medical Sciences (150 nurses)، Ali Ibn Abi Talib، Khatam Al-Anbia، Bouali، and Ali Asghar hospitals in Zahedan، during the COVID-19 epidemic. The data collection tool had two parts; the first part included the Anxiety Scale in Coronavirus Disease (CDAS) questionnaire، and the second part was the Maslach Questionnaire to measure burnout.

The findings of our study showed that 63.7% of emergency nurses had anxiety and there was a statistically significant relationship between anxiety and young age، female gender، fewer children، fewer working years، employment for mandatory post-graduation service، having underlying illness، the death of a family member due to coronavirus، and burnout. The mean burnout score was 77.81 ± 23.61 (24 to 116)، and burnout had a statistically significant relationship with female gender، fewer children، fewer working years، employment for mandatory post-graduation service، death of a family member due to coronavirus، and anxiety.

Based on the findings of this study، it was found that the prevalence of both variables، namely anxiety due to COVID-19 and job burnout، is high، and there is a significant relationship between the two.