Self-awareness or mindfulness: predicting nurses’ burnout intensity

Background: Nowadays, burnout is known as an important phenomenon. A review of related literature shows that self-awareness and mindfulness play important roles in predicting this phenomenon. Objectives: The present study was conducted to determine the best predictor of the intensity of burnout between the concepts of self-awareness or mindfulness. Methods: In this predictive correlational study. The nurses working in hospitals located in Kerman, Iran in 2017. were selected using the convenience sampling method (n=100) and answered Self-awareness, Mindfulness, and burnout questionnaires. Both descriptive (mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression) were used to analyze the data with SPSS version 16 soft were. Results: There was no significant correlation between self-awareness and burnout intensity (P≥.05); however, the relationship between mindfulness and all subscales of burnout was significant and negative (r=-.39, P≤.01). Moreover, 21% of burnout intensity variance was explained by mindfulness. The self-awareness variable was not found to play a role in predicting burnout intensity. Conclusion: Given the greater and more important role of mindfulness in predicting burnout intensity, it is recommended that training programs and mindfulness interventions prevent and reduce the negative effects of burnout during nurses' work hours