Burnout and Mental Health of Public Health Workers In Sub-district Health Promoting Hospital Sakon Nakhon Province After the Severe Outbreak Situation of COVID-19

Abstract

This descriptive study aims to investigate the levels of burnout and mental health among public health workers in Sub-district Health Promoting Hospitals (SHPH) in Sakon Nakhon Province. The second objective was to study strategies for promoting and preventing burnout and mental health issues. The data was collected during March to June 2023 divided in two phases study. The first phase, a multi-stage random sampling method was employed, resulting in a sample size of 274 public health workers. Data were collected using a burnout assessment scale and a mental health status assessment tool. Quantitative data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. In the second phase, a purposive sampling method was used to select 25 key informants for qualitative data collection, which involved in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The study found that the majority of personnel had an overall burnout score at a low level. However, when categorized by specific aspects, it was found that 86.5% of personnel had a low level of emotional exhaustion, 82.5% had a low level of depersonalization and 61.0% had a high level of personal accomplishment. Regarding mental health status, which was categorized into depression, anxiety, and stress, the majority were within normal levels at 62.8%, 57.3% and 90.5%, respectively. Key strategies for promoting mental health and preventing burnout included crisis adaptation abilities, support from the healthcare system, teamwork, effective communication and professional development opportunities.