Abstract
OUTCOMES:
1. Understand the components of the Maslach Burnout Inventory and use it to describe the severity of burnout among oncology infusion room nurses
2. Evaluate the effects of a nurse-led primary palliative care intervention on burnout among oncology nurses and identify potential influencing factors
IMPORTANCE: Palliative care clinicians display less burnout than oncology clinicians, but little is known about the impact of providing oncology care and primary palliative care in the same setting.
OBJECTIVE(S): We hypothesized that nurses providing primary palliative care in addition to oncology care would experience less burnout over time compared to nurses providing oncology care only.
METHOD(S): Secondary analysis of a cluster randomized trial of an oncology nurse-led primary palliative care intervention (CONNECT). Three groups of nurses were evaluated: nurses at intervention clinics who provided palliative care in addition to oncology care, nurses at intervention clinics who did not provide palliative care, and nurses at standard care sites. Upon study enrollment and 1 year following, nurses completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (subscales: emotional exhaustion [EE; range 0-54, higher scores indicating more burnout], depersonalization [DP; range 0-40, higher scores indicating more burnout], and personal accomplishment [PA; range 0-48, lower scores indicating more burnout]). Multivariable regression analyses were performed to test differences in follow-up burnout scores between nurse groups.
RESULTS: Overall burnout rates were low at enrollment for all groups (EE 17.0 ± 12.0, DP 2.6 ± 3.5, PA 41.7 ± 5.2). Nurses who provided palliative care did not report lower burnout scores than nurses in the other two groups at 1 year. Nurses at intervention sites who did not provide palliative care reported greater emotional exhaustion than nurses at standard care sites (adjusted mean difference=6.85; 95% CI, 0.92 to 12.79; p=0.02).
CONCLUSION(S): Providing primary palliative care in addition to oncology care does not appear to impact burnout among oncology infusion room nurses. Impact: As oncology practice evolves to encompass primary palliative care, delivery models must be constructed in ways that safeguard clinician well-being.
