Level of work related strain and burnout of emergency service workers in the time of SARS-COV-2 pandemic

Work-Related Strain and Burn-Out Levels of Emergency Room Personnel in the Time of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Objective: Healthcare workers are under both physical and psychological pressure in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, which started in March 2020 and still continues today. In addition to the stress and accompanying emotions brought by the pandemic, it is clear to predict that the stress level will be more pronounced and may affect the work life in the hospital personnel who have high-risk contact with possible cases, whose working order is changed, and who are forced to isolate from their family and social environment due to the current conditions. Our study was conducted to determine the factors affecting the work-related strain and burn-out levels of emegency service workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the sociodemographic characterteristics that affect these levels and the change in these levels over time. Method: The research was conducted with the employees working in the Emergency Room of Akdeniz University Hospital. An online survey was used as data collection tool. The first survey of the research was conducted between May-June 2020, and the second survey was conducted between November-December 2020. Demographic variables of the emergency staff who is working in the pandemic area were defined, the levels of work-related strain and burn-out were measured, and the relationship of these scores with the variables of age, gender, marital status, professional title, living with a risky individual at home, history of SARS-CoV-2 enfection, the effect of education and changes in these factors were examined. Results: According to the results of the study, the older group experienced less emotional exhaustion and depersonalization than the younger ones; single workers experienced more burn-out than married workers; the work-related strain and burn-out of secretaries is higher than other occupational groups. In all occupational groups, there are changes in the upward direction, including some of the sub-headings related to work-related strain, emotional exhaustion, depersonalizasyon and personal accomplishment, secretaries experienced more work-related strain and emotional exhaustion compared to other occupation groups; physicians have a higher risk of depersonalization and low personal achievement compared to other groups; it has been detected that the training about the subject reduces work-related strain and depersonalization while increasing personal achievement rate; the history of SARS-CoV-2 enfection increases the level of burn-out. Conclusion: It has been found that age, marital status, professional title, education and SARS-CoV-2 infection effect work-related strain and burn-out at different rates, and living with a high-risk individual at home and gender has no effect on work-related strain and burn-out. Key words: SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19, work-related strain, burn-out