Prevention of Burnout in healthcare workers: Literature review

Burnout syndrome represents a significant modern day public health challenge, especially among healthcare workers exposed to chronic professional stress. Literature analysis shows that numerous organisational and individual factors affect the development of this syndrome, including workload, shift work, lack of resources, interpersonal relationships, as well as personal characteristics and mechanisms of coping with stress. Burnout syndrome can have a negative impact on mental health of employees, on their professional efficiency, as well as on quality of healthcare and patient safety, increasing the risk of professional errors, absence from work and staff fluctuations. Due to the complexity of the problem, prevention must be based on an integrated approach encompassing individual, organisational and systemic measures. Continual professional development of healthcare workers, development of strategies for coping with stress, increasing psychological resilience, improvement of the working environment, ensuring adequate support and systemic risk monitoring are of key importance for preserving the mental health of staff and ensuring the quality of healthcare services. Future research and the development of preventative programs could assist in reducing burnout syndrome prevalence and improving the healthcare system sustainability.