BURNOUT MIDWIVES WORKING IN NEONATAL INTESIVE

Introduction: The considerably low proportion of midwives in closed wards in Greek hospitals in combination with the highly stressful environment may lead to burnout syndrome (BS). Aim: It was to explore burnout syndrome (BS) that experience midwives working in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) and the factors associated with its' occurrence. Methods: The sample studied consisted of midwives working in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in hospitals in Athens. Burnout syndrome was measured using the Greek version of Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). This is a 26-item measure containing three subscales: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP) and diminished personal accomplishment (DPA). Burnout has defined as a high score on the emotional exhaustion or/and depersonalisation subscores, and low score on personal accomplishment. Results: The sample consisted of 104 midwives. The majority of the sample had high emotional exhaustion score (37.94±10.77), high depersonalization score (12.47±5.25) and low personal accomplishment score (45.39±3.97). Conclusion: The study findings showed that this sample of Greek midwives experience relatively high levels of burnout syndrome.