Risk Factors for Burnout of Infection Control Nurses

Risk Factors for Burnout of Infection Control Nurses

Infection control nurses (ICNs) play a crucial role in infection control (IC) activities but often experience increased job stress due to excessive work and the psychological burden on IC. Burnout, identified as a significant factor influencing nurse turnover, has been insufficiently explored among ICNs. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify factors affecting the burnout of ICNs. This study was conducted as a descriptive survey. Participants were 148 ICNs in South Korea.. Burnout differed significantly depending on infection control experience, hospital type, and the number of beds. In addition, the level of burnout was negatively correlated with hospital types and self-efficacy, and positively correlated with the number of beds, job stress, and fatigue. The most influential factor was job stress (β=.38, p<.001), followed by self-efficacy (β=-.32, p<.001), the number of beds (β=.20, p=.023), and fatigue (β=.12, p=.039). These parameters, predictors of burnout in ICNs, comprised 56% of the explanatory power for burnout (F= 36.57, p<.001). The significance of this study was to identify the degree of burnout of ICNs and the most significant factor in their burnout. Management strategies to reduce ICN’s job stress are needed.