Introduction: Nurses working in
COVID-۱۹ emergency and intensive care units may experience increased stress due to the special working environments. This stress can lead to burnout and negatively impact their quality of life. This study aimed to compare the quality of professional life (QPL) and job burnout among nurses working in
COVID-۱۹ and non-COVID-۱۹ wards in Birjand teaching hospitals.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study involved ۱۸۲ nurses working in
COVID-۱۹ and non-COVID-۱۹ wards at teaching hospitals in Birjand. The number of nurses from the two categories of wards was proportional, with ۹۱ nurses from the
COVID-۱۹ wards and ۹۱ nurses from non-COVID-۱۹ wards. A demographics form, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Walton Quality of Work Life Questionnaire were used to collect data. The data were analyzed in SPSS ۲۶ software using independent t-test, chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and analysis of variance. The significance level was set to P < ۰.۰۵.
Results: Of the ۱۸۲ nurses studied, ۹۱ (۵۰%) worked in
COVID-۱۹ wards. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean QPL score between nurses in the
COVID-۱۹ (۸۱.۴۶ ± ۱۷.۲۱) and non-COVID-۱۹ wards (۸۷.۸۹ ± ۱۷) (P=۰.۰۲). There was also a statistically significant difference in the mean job burnout score between nurses in the
COVID-۱۹ (۷۸.۳۲ ± ۱۷.۲۱) and non-COVID-۱۹ wards (۸۷.۴۶ ± ۱۷.۲۱) (P=۰.۰۲). Among the components of job burnout, there was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores for lack of achievement (P ≤ ۰.۰۰۱) and depersonalization (P ≤ ۰.۰۰۱) among nurses working in the
COVID-۱۹ and non-COVID-۱۹ wards.
Conclusion: A significant disparity exists between nurses in
COVID-۱۹ and non-COVID-۱۹ wards concerning the QPL and job burnout. It is recommended that administrators implement strategies to mitigate nurses' job burnout and enhance their QPL, such as conducting psychotherapy sessions and periodically transferring nurses from high-stress units to other wards.
