A comparison of selected variables and their impact on burnout in registered nurses in the rural hospital setting

Abstract

A Comparison of Selected Variables and Their Impact on Burnout in Registered Nurses in the Rural Hospital Setting Burnout as a problem in the nursing profession was identified in the 1970's. This study is a replication of Wiggers (1982) study. There have been very few studies conducted on burnout in rural communities. The majority of research on burnout in nursing has been done in urban communities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of burnout in rural nurses with the following selected variables: full-time and part-time; in full-time nurses staying in the same area versus changing work area; differing amounts of time in direct face-to-face contact with patients; with nurses having greater amounts of time in contact with the same patients versus those having less varying scheduled work interruptions. During the time span from 1982 to 1988, significant changes had occurred in the health care climate as a result of the introduction of Medicare's Prospective Payment system in 1983. Therefore, this study also compared levels of burnout in nurses in rural Idaho in 1982 and rural Idaho in 1988. The sample consisted of 76 female RN's employed within 12 rural hospitals located in Idaho. The Human Services Survey and Demographic questionnaire was administered to 76 RN's. Results of the t-test and one-way analysis of variance demonstrated no significant difference at the .05 level in the MBI subscale mean scores for emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment with the selected variables. These findings resulted in a failure to reject null hypotheses of no difference. The study failed to demonstrate a change in the level of burnout from 1982 to 1988 among rural nurses in Idaho.