Burnout among Lebanese nurses: Psychometric properties of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS)

Background: Burnout is a mental condition defined as a result of continuous and long-term stress exposure, particularly related to psychosocial factors at work. This paper aims to examine the psychometric properties of the Maslach Burnout Questionnaire (MBI-HSS) for validation of use in Lebanon, and to describe burnout and associated factors amongst nurses in Lebanon especially the gender and employment sector. Methods: The psychometric properties of the Arabic version of MBI-HSS were studied amongst a sample of 200 nurses. In this descriptive study, survey data were collected from private and public hospitals. The data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis. Results: The results indicated satisfactory reliability through internal consistency for all three scales of the MBI-HSS. The factor analysis was quite satisfactory. Most of staff had scores which indicated they were burnt out. Nearly three quarters (77.5%) reported emotional exhaustion, 36.0% reported depersonalization while almost one third (33.0%) experienced reduced personal accomplishment. Burnout increases for 30 39 years age groups. Married nurses had significantly higher emotional exhaustion. Depersonalization was highest among nurses in private sector, and personal accomplishment was highest among nurses in public sector. Depersonalization proved to be higher in night and rotating shift nurses. Depression, backache, and headache were predictors of burnout. Conclusion: Findings indicate that the main psychometric properties of reliability and validity of the Arabic version of MBI-HSS appear to be satisfactory. Burnout is particularly prominent and severe in the nurses working population. The implications of these findings for interventions that reduce burnout and promote nursing mental health are therefore in the interest of employers, governments and policy makers.