Racial and ethnic variations in caregiving-related physical, emotional, and financial strain during COVID-19 among those caring for adult cancer patients.

PURPOSE: Cancer caregiving is shown to be a burdensome experience in typical times. The purpose of this study was to describe cancer caregivers' emotional, physical, and financial strain during the COVID-19 pandemic and compared to preCOVID-19, and explore racial and ethnic variations in caregiver strain. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey using Lucid, LLC, incorporating quotas for race, ethnicity, gender and age. Caregivers had to be adults living in the USA and currently providing unpaid care to an adult cancer patient (i.e., during COVID-19) and prior to the pandemic. We assessed the caregivers' emotional, physical, and financial strain and asked them to compare to preCOVID-19 caregiving. Analyses included descriptive and linear regression adjusting for sociodemographic and caregiving-related variables. RESULTS: A total of 285 caregivers met eligibility, and most were nonHispanic white (72.3%) and female (59.6%). Based on a scale of "1: Much lower" to "5: Much higher", the financial, physical and emotional strain/stress experienced by caregivers compared to preCOVID-19 was, on average, 3.52 (SD: 0.82; range: 1-5) for financial strain, 3.61 (SD: 0.86; range: 1-5) for physical strain, and 3.88 (SD: 0.89; range: 1-5) for emotional stress. NonHispanic black caregivers were significantly more likely than nonHispanic white caregivers to indicate that caregiving-related financial strain was higher than preCOVID-19. Moreover, Hispanic caregivers compared to nonHispanic white caregivers reported caregiving-related emotional stress was higher than preCOVID-19. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest a need to be attentive to racial and ethnic variations in emotional and financial strain and provide targeted support in clinical care and via public policy during a public health crisis.

Avaliação da Síndrome de Burnout entre estudantes do último ano de um curso de medicina do Brasil / Evaluation of Burnout Syndrome in senior students from a brazilian medical school

Introdução: Estudantes de medicina estão cada vez mais suscetíveis ao desenvolvimento de agravos relacionados à saúde mental. Um importante agravo que deve ser investigado durante a formação médica é a Síndrome de Burnout. Sintomas próprios da síndrome, como a exaustão emocional, muita das vezes não são reconhecidos com tal, podendo agravar o quadro já instalado no estudante. Objetivo:Avaliar a ocorrência da Síndrome de Burnout no período de formação profissional dos graduandos do último ano de um curso de medicina. Casuística e Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo transversal analítico com abordagem quantitativa realizada por meio de questionário sociodemográfico e pelo Instrumento de avaliação de Burnout "Maslach Burnout Inventory for students (MBI-SS)", aplicados aos acadêmicos do último ano de um curso de medicina da cidade de Goiânia, Goiás, Brasil. Foi confeccionado um banco de dados, sendo realizadas análises descritivas, teste t de Student e o teste de análise de variância (ANOVA). Resultados: Foram pesquisados 81 estudantes do último ano do curso de medicina, sendo 42% do sexo masculino e 58% do sexo feminino. Um total de 67,9% tinha idade entre 21 e 25 anos, eram solteiros (95,1%), com baixo envolvimento religioso (38,3%) e praticavam atividade física regularmente (71,6%). Os escores da escala MBI-SS foram respectivamente: exaustão emocional (4,21±1,063), descrença (3,02±1,402) e satisfação pessoal (4,28±0,885). As análises demonstraram que aqueles que participaram de iniciação científica tiveram uma melhor satisfação pessoal (4,73±0,78) e menor escore em relação à descrença (3,43±1,27). Aqueles que tiveram experiência de doença grave pessoal apresentaram escore mais alto em exaustão (4,50±0,71). Conclusão: Os alunos pesquisados não apresentaram escores que indicam a ocorrência da Síndrome de Burnout. Os escores apresentaram-se moderados em exaustão emocional e descrença, mas altos em satisfação pessoal, não caracterizando assim a síndrome neste grupo de alunos. Diante da relevância dos resultados apresentados, é importante que as instituições de ensino voltem sua atenção à questão da prevalência da Síndrome de Burnout em acadêmicos de medicina.

Introduction: Medical students are increasingly susceptible to the development of mental health problems. An important issue that must be investigated during medical training is Burnout Syndrome. Symptoms typical of the syndrome, such as emotional exhaustion, are often not recognized with such, and may aggravate the picture already installed in the student. Objective: To evaluate the Burnout Syndrome occurrence in the final-year medical undergraduate students during their period of professional training. Patients and Methods: This is a cross-sectional, analytical study with a quantitative approach using a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Burnout Assessment Instrument "Maslach Burnout Inventory for students (MBI-SS)", applied to the final-year medical undergraduate students in the city of Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. A database was prepared, descriptive analyzes, Student's t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed. Results: Study sample was composed of 81 final-year medical undergraduate students, 42% male and 58% female. Age of the interviewed students ranged from 21 to 25 years (67.9%), 95.1% were single, 38.3% had low religious involvement, and 71.6% were engaged in regular physical activity. MBI-SS scores were: emotional exhaustion (4.21 ± 1.063), disbelief (3.02 ± 1.402), and personal satisfaction (4.28 ± 0.885). The analyzes showed that students who participated in scientific initiation had a better personal satisfaction (4.73 ± 0.78) and a lower score about disbelief (3.43 ± 1.27). Students who had experience of severe personal disease had a higher score on exhaustion (4.50 ± 0.71). Conclusion: The students did not present scores indicating the burnout syndrome occurrence. The scores were moderated in Emotional Exhaustion and Disbelief, but high in Personal Satisfaction. Thus, we could not characterize the syndrome in this group of students. Given the relevance of the presented results, it is important that the institutions of education turn their attention to the question of the prevalence of the Burnout Syndrome among medical students.

Burnout Syndrome and shift work among the nursing staff / Síndrome de Burnout e o trabalho em turnos na equipe de enfermagem / Síndrome de Burnout y trabajo en turnos en el equipo de enfermería

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze the factors associated with Burnout Syndrome among nursing workers according to work shift. Method: cross-sectional study addressing a representative sample of 502 nursing workers from a philanthropic hospital facility. Data were collected using a characterization instrument, the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Service Survey and the Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple binary logistic regression. Results: levels of Burnout Syndrome were significantly higher among those working the day shift and associated factors included: high demand; low control; low social support; dissatisfaction with sleep and financial resources; being a nurse; and sedentariness. Professionals working the night shift, having low social support, being dissatisfied with sleep, having children, not having a religion, having worked for a short period in the institution, and being a nursing technician or aid were significantly more likely to experience high levels of the syndrome. Conclusion: psychosocial factors and factors from the work context, mainly low social support, were associated with the syndrome dimensions among nursing workers of both shifts.

RESUMO Objetivo: analisar os fatores associados à síndrome de Burnout, segundo o turno de trabalho da equipe de enfermagem. Método: estudo transversal, desenvolvido com uma amostra representativa de 502 trabalhadores de enfermagem de uma instituição hospitalar filantrópica. Os dados foram coletados por meio de um instrumento de caracterização, o Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Service Survey e o Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire. Analisaram-se os dados por estatística descritiva e regressão logística binária múltipla. Resultados: os níveis da síndrome de Burnout foram significativamente maiores entre os trabalhadores de enfermagem do turno diurno. Entre os participantes que trabalhavam no período diurno, os fatores associados às dimensões da síndrome de Burnout foram: alta demanda, baixo controle, baixo apoio social, insatisfação com o sono e recursos financeiros, ser enfermeiro e, ainda, sedentarismo. Já no noturno, baixo apoio social, insatisfação com o sono e lazer, ter filhos, não ter religião, menor tempo de trabalho na instituição e ser auxiliar e técnico de enfermagem aumentaram significativamente as chances de altos níveis da síndrome. Conclusão: os fatores psicossociais e do contexto laboral, sobretudo o baixo apoio social, tiveram associação com as dimensões da síndrome entre os profissionais de enfermagem de ambos os turnos.

RESUMEN Objetivo: analizar los factores asociados al síndrome de Burnout según el turno de trabajo del equipo de enfermería. Método: estudio transversal desarrollado con una muestra representativa de 502 trabajadores de enfermería, de una institución hospitalaria filantrópica. Los datos fueron recogidos con un instrumento de caracterización, el Maslach Burnout Inventory- Human Service Survey y el Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire. Se analizaron los datos con estadística descriptiva y regresión logística binaria múltiple. Resultados: los niveles del síndrome de Burnout fueron significativamente mayores entre los trabajadores de enfermería del turno diurno. Entre los participantes que trabajaban en el período diurno, los factores asociados a las dimensiones del síndrome de Burnout fueron: alta demanda, bajo control, bajo apoyo social, insatisfacción con el sueño y los recursos financieros, ser enfermero y sedentarismo. En el nocturno fueron bajo apoyo social, insatisfacción con el sueño y el tiempo libre, tener hijos, no tener religión, menor tiempo de trabajo en la institución y ser auxiliar y técnico de enfermería, estos factores aumentaron significativamente las probabilidades de altos niveles del síndrome. Conclusión: los factores psicosociales y del contexto laboral, sobre todo el bajo apoyo social, tuvieron asociación con las dimensiones del síndrome, entre los profesionales de enfermería en los dos turnos.

Síndrome de burnout en los profesionales de medicina hispanoamericanos / Burnout syndrome in Spanish-American doctors

Se observaron diferencias en la intensidad de las dimensiones del burnout y de los factores asociados según las naciones de ejercicio de la medicina, pero los factores vinculados con el nivel alto de las dimensiones fueron comunes para los médicos de todas las naciones

Burnout among foreign-born and native Swedish women: a longitudinal study.

The authors of this study addressed burnout experiences (generally defined as chronic depletion of an individual's energetic resources') over time in relation to other factors (e.g., distress, sleep difficulties, job demands, etc.) among foreign-born women and Swedish native women living in Stockholm. The study design was a longitudinal panel survey with two waves one year apart. In the first wave, 3,616 of 6,000 randomly selected women took part, and 2,300 of the initial 3,616 women also participated in the second wave; 427 were foreign-born women, and 1,873 were Swedish native women. Baseline/emerging distress, emerging sleep difficulties, worsening general social support, job demands at baseline/escalating during the assessment period, emerging unemployment, constraints in social support at work, and sustained/emerging financial strain were associated with future burnout, regardless of background. More foreign-born women than Swedish native women reported burnout, with these differences maintained at one-year follow-up. The factors related to burnout were largely the same in both groups, but smoking and cardiovascular disease were related to burnout only among foreign-born women. Younger age, job demands, and working hours were associated with burnout among Swedish native women. The authors found that the women had concurrent problems such as burnout, distress, and sleep problems, but foreign background was not independently related to burnout.

Primary language and cultural background as factors in resident burnout in medical specialties: a study in a bilingual US city.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the degree of burnout among resident physicians enrolled in seven postgraduate training programs at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, El Paso, Texas, as it related to residents' age, gender, marital status, number of hours worked per week, primary language, race/ethnicity, and cultural background. METHOD: : The Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Service Survey (MBI) was administered to measure the level of burnout according to the prevalence of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced personal accomplishment (PA). RESULTS: : Eighty-one percent of the residents at TTUHSC participated in the study. Residents raised in the United States or Canada comprised 28% and 35% of the study, and all reported English as their primary language. The EE scale was significant for obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN) residents (prevalence odds ratio [POR] = 13.55, P = 0.02) and psychiatry (PSY) residents (POR = 6.50, P = 0.03). Emergency medicine (EM) residents (POR = 23.35, P = 0.002), OB/GYN (POR = 10.89, P = 0.02), and general surgery (GS) (POR = 6.24, P = 0.03) residents had high DP. Internal medicine (IM) residents (primarily Spanish-speaking) reported significantly low EE (POR = 0.22, P = 0.03) and PA (POR = 0.09, P = 0.001) scores. Residents from the United States or Canada who reported English as their primary language and noted their race as white, had high EE (POR = 3.06, P = 0.03; POR = 5.61, P = 0.0001; POR = 2.91, P = 0.004), DP (POR = 3.19, P = 0.02; POR = 8.34, P < or = 0.0001; POR = 4.70, P < or = 0.0001) and PA (POR = 2.61, P = 0.02; POR = 2.35, P = 0.05, POR 0.29, P = 0.3) scores. CONCLUSION: Using valid measures, this pilot study identified a statistically significant relationship between burnout and residents' race/ethnicity, primary language, and cultural background. Larger studies with similar focus would be necessary to generalize these findings. At-risk residents in bilingual locations should be provided with cultural awareness workshops, language assistance programs, as well as senior resident and faculty mentors.

Idosos e saúde mental / Elders and mental health

Mudanças físicas, psicológicas e de papéis sociais são desafios a serem enfrentados por todos nós ao envelhecer, com vistas à manutenção da qualidade de vida, do bem-estar. Este livro reúne os temas mais frequentes nas atividades de ensino e pesquisa, assim como em intervenções realizadas por profissionais comprometidos em investigar a população idosa, com ênfase nos aspectos relacionados à saúde mental. Em vez de versar sobre a ausência desta, pretende-se aqui atentar sobretudo para o que ela representa em nossos dias. Isso requer uma ampla reflexão, a começar pela forma como os idosos se percebem e são percebidos pela sociedade. Destinada a estudantes de graduação e pós-graduação, profissionais e pessoas interessadas no assunto, a obra busca propiciar aos leitores não apenas a aquisição de conhecimentos sobre as enescência e a senilidade, mas também discutir o próprio processo de envelhecimento.

Using formative research to develop a worksite health promotion program for African American women.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the development of a culturally appropriate worksite health promotion program (WHPP) designed to promote increased physical activity and improved nutrition in a high risk group of African American women. METHODS: The program was based on EatRight, which is a lifestyle-oriented weight control program that focuses on food volume, rather than calories. Formative research included four nominal group technique (NGT) sessions conducted with 14 African American women from the selected worksite to gather input on job factors that affected their weight and daily life factors that affected their amount of physical activity. Their responses were used to adapt existing EatRight materials to target areas of special need for this unique group. RESULTS: Themes emerged from the NGT sessions that indicated stress at work and an environment of unhealthy eating, in addition to social eating and lack of social support for healthy eating added to unhealthy eating patterns at work. In response to physical activity, the primary themes included lack of time to exercise, stress of multiple family roles and responsibilities, and perceived physical barriers to physical activity. DISCUSSION: Based on the NGT themes, EatRight materials were adapted and additional topics (e.g., increasing social support, overcoming limitations, and time management) were included to develop a WHPP that addressed issues that the participants identified as relevant for their work and home lives. Conducting the NGT sessions and EatRight classes in the work environment, we were able to provide a convenient, familiar environment which fostered social support among participants. We believe that a culturally appropriate modification of EatRight holds great promise in addressing health disparities seen among African American women by offering education on lifestyle changes that will decrease weight through nutrition and physical activity.

Church leaders' tobacco opinions: send materials, not money.

In addition to personnel challenges,faith-based organizations (FBOs) face tangible challenges to implementing tobacco use prevention programs, such as finding materials that fit within their mission and financial backing to support the program. The present project surveyed 71 FBO leaders about these challenges with two open-ended questions that asked what would help and hinder them from delivering a tobacco prevention program, and Likert questionnaires on advocacy, efficacy, impact, policy, burnout, and morality. On what would help them deliver a tobacco prevention program, the most common answer was materials, about half of present FBO leaders gave this answer. On what would interfere, the most common answer was nothing, with about one quarter giving this answer; and, the next most common answer was not having materials with about one sixth giving this answer. The survey was brief (2 pages), and the sample size was small (71). Having the appropriate tobacco prevention materials was clearly a concern for present, mostly African American faith-based leaders, who reported that they needed materials more than they needed money, volunteers, or other forms of assistance.

Occupational correlates of smoking among urban transit operators: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Workers in blue-collar and service occupations smoke at higher rates than workers in white-collar and professional occupations. Occupational stress may explain some of the occupational class differences in smoking and quitting behavior. The purpose of this study is to investigate the contribution of occupational factors to smoking behavior over a ten year period among a multiethnic cohort of urban transit operators, while accounting for demographic factors and alcohol. METHODS: The sample consists of 654 San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) transit operators who participated in two occupational health studies and biennial medical examinations during 1983-85 and 1993-95. Workers who had initiated, increased, or maintained their smoking over the ten year period were compared to workers who remained non-smokers. Occupational factors included self-rated frequency of job problems (e.g., difficulties with equipment, passengers, traffic), job burnout (i.e., the emotional exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory), time needed to unwind after work, and years employed as a transit operator. A series of logistic regression models were developed to estimate the contribution of occupational factors to smoking behavior over time. RESULTS: Approximately 35% of the workers increased, initiated, or maintained their smoking over the ten-year period. Frequency of job problems was significantly associated with likelihood of smoking increase, initiation, or maintenance (OR = 1.30; 95% CI 1.09, 1.55). Black operators were significantly more likely to have smoked over the ten-year period compared to operators in other racial/ethnic groups. CONCLUSION: Understanding the role of work-related stress vis-à-vis smoking behavior is of critical importance for crafting workplace smoking prevention and cessation interventions that are applicable to blue-collar work settings, and for developing policies that mitigate occupational stress.