Depression and Burnout among Health Extension Workers in Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Depression and burnout are common among healthcare workers (HCWs) and negatively affect their well being and the quality of the service they provide. However, the burden of depression and burnout among health extension workers (HEWs) in Ethiopia and their relationship has not been documented well. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of depression and burnout among HEWs in Ethiopia and to investigate the relationship between these conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used a cross-sectional study design and collected data from 584 rural and 581 urban HEWs in Ethiopia, as part of the 2019 national health extension program assessment. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Burnout Self-Test were used to screen HEWs for depression and burnout, respectively. We used descriptive statistics to estimate the magnitude of depression and burnout, and logistic regression to examine their relationship. RESULT: Based on PHQ-9 cutoff scores of 10, the prevalence of major depression was 16.5% among rural and 8.9% among urban HEWs, whereas burnout risk was 39.8% among rural and 12.6% among urban HEWs. The odds of having depression among HEWs with burnout risk was relatively higher compared to those without burnout risk [For rural HEWs, the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) is 11.88 at a 95% confidence interval (CI; 5.27, 26.80), and for urban HEWs, the AOR is 11.49 at a 95% CI (5.35, 24.63)]. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of depression and burnout is high among HEWs in Ethiopia, with a significant rural­urban difference, and burnout is a significant predictor of depression. Mental health interventions that enable prevention, early detection, and management are needed especially for rural HEWs who are in charge of preventive health service delivery for the disadvantaged rural communities

Prevalencia de burnout a través de dos medidas y su relación con variables sociodeportivas / Burnout's Prevalence through two Measures and its Relation with Sociodemographic's Variables

Resumen Se estudia la prevalencia del síndrome de burnout en deportistas y su relación con variables sociodeportivas. Se aplicaron los dos instrumentos de medida disponibles en España que miden el constructo: IBD-R y versión española del ABQ, en una muestra de 646 deportistas. Los resultados obtenidos muestran una prevalencia del 4.2 % para el IBD-R y 3.3 % para el ABQ, así como diferencias estadísticamente significativas para sexo, presentando los varones una realización personal más reducida que las mujeres, y niveles competitivos más altos de prevalencia general y de la subescala agotamiento físico/emocional en el nivel nacional que en el local. Estos datos son similares a los hallados en investigaciones anteriores, tanto en prevalencia como en diferencias según variables sociodeportivas.

Abstract This study aims to investigate the prevalence of burnout syndrome in athletes and their relation with different social and sporting variables. They have implemented the two instruments available in Spain for measuring burnout in athletes: IBD-R and the Spanish version of ABQ in a sample of 646 athletes with an average age of 19.73 years. The results show a prevalence of 4.2% for IBD-R and 3.3% for the ABQ and statistically significant differences for sex, presenting the smaller male self-fulfillment than women; and competitive, presenting higher prevalence levels overall and subscale physical/emotional exhaustion at the national level as home. These data are similar to those found in previous investigations, both prevalence and differences according social and sporting variables.