The prevalence of burnout in healthcare professionals during the Covid-19 pandemic in Maranhão: precursors of lockdown in Brazil.

Abstract

Introduction: The Maranhão was the first state in the Northeast to enact lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, a measure that quickly impacted public health and people's mental health, especially healthcare professionals. Objective: to evaluate the prevalence of Burnout Syndrome among healthcare professionals in Imperatriz (MA), during the pandemic. Materials and Methods: Quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study, developed between August and October 2021 with 59 professionals who cared for patients with Covid-19. Sociodemographic characteristics and the presence of Burnout were investigated using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Data were analyzed with SPSS, using descriptive and bivariate statistics, including Fisher's Exact test and Prevalence Ratio. Results: The average age was 34.36 years, with the majority being female (78%), married (50.8%), working 40 hours a week (69.5%). Around 54.2% of professionals contracted Covid-19, symptoms of anxiety (49.2%), depression (8.5%) and insomnia (28.8%). Discussion: Burnout was twice as prevalent among professionals who had Covid-19. Conclusion: The abrupt arrival of the pandemic in Maranhão required rapid adaptation of professionals to the new circumstances, which had a high prevalence of Burnout due to exposure to a scenario of intense stress and overload.