Affiliations: [a] Department of Disaster Medicine, Pre-Hospital Emergency Health Services and Disaster Management Graduate Program, Health Sciences Institute, Ege University, Bornova, Turkey
| [b] Atatürk Health Care Vocational School, Ege University, Bornova, Turkey
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Süreyya Gümüşsoy, MSN, PhD, Associate Professor, Atatürk Health Care Vocational School, Ege University, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Türkiye. Tel.: +90 232 311 3176; E-mail: sureyya.gumussoy@ege.edu.tr.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, pre-hospital emergency healthcare workers (PHEHW) assumed critical responsibilities in controlling and preventing the spread of the virus. OBJECTIVE:
This descriptive study aimed to explore the emotional burnout, job satisfaction, and intention to leave among PHEHW during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS:
The study was conducted with 401 emergency medical technicians and paramedics. The Sociodemographic Data Form, the Emotional Burnout Scale, the Job Satisfaction Scale, the Intention to Leave the Profession Scale were used to collect data. The findings were assessed with a significance level set at p < 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval. RESULTS:
The participants demonstrated moderate scores in emotional burnout, job satisfaction, and intention to leave the profession. The analysis revealed a negative correlation, indicating that as emotional burnout increased, job satisfaction decreased, and the intention to leave the profession heightened. Notably, the participants who had 6–9 years of service, lacked knowledge about COVID-19, had no COVID-19 training, underwent COVID-19 testing, and experienced the loss of a healthcare worker due to COVID-19 exhibited higher levels of burnout. Furthermore, those who had 6–9 years of service, lacked knowledge about COVID-19, had no COVID-19 training, and lost a healthcare worker due to COVID-19 reported lower levels of job satisfaction. Additionally, participants who had 6-9 years of service, lacked knowledge about COVID-19, had no COVID-19 training, and experienced the loss of a healthcare worker due to COVID-19 displayed a greater intention to leave the profession. CONCLUSIONS:
It is important to implement improvement initiatives that will increase the motivation and job satisfaction of PHEHW. These include the regulation of working hours and shifts, augmenting staff numbers, enhancing working conditions, improving salaries, and implementing strategies aimed at fostering motivation and job satisfaction.
Keywords: Pandemic, COVID-19, pre-hospital emergency healthcare workers, emotional burnout, job satisfaction, intention to leave the profession
