The Prevalence of Nurses’ Emotional Exhaustion during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Dublin Core

Title

The Prevalence of Nurses’ Emotional Exhaustion during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Subject

Burnout; COVID-19; emotional exhaustion; nurses

Description

Background: Nurses in many countries face a high prevalence of psychological
pressure while caring for COVID-19 patients. Several determinants of emotional
exhaustion leading to occupational burnout risk were documented. However, a
recent review examining nurses’ emotional exhaustion during the COVID-19
pandemic is lacking in nursing literature.
Purpose: This review aimed to examine the prevalence of nurses’ emotional
exhaustion during the COVID-19 pandemic. This review also describes the
organizational contributing factors to nurses’ emotional exhaustion.
Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature following the
PRISMA guidelines was conducted in March 2022. Four databases, including
PubMed, ProQuest Platform, Wiley, and Google Scholar, were searched from 1
January 2020 to 28 February 2022. The prevalence of nurses’ emotional
exhaustion (EE) was pooled using random effect meta‐analyses. The quality
appraisal of the studies was done using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist.
Data analysis utilized a random effect model to evaluate the pooled effects of the
studies due to the high heterogeneity between results.
Results: Nine studies were included with a total number of 16,810 subjects
surveyed, of whom, 8,150 (48.50%) met the criteria for emotional exhaustion.
Based on the standard effect model, the pooled estimate for EE prevalence was
48.9% (95% CI:48.1% to 49.6%). Several organizational factors contributing to
nurses’ emotional exhaustion included working in critical care units or isolation
wards, longer working hours in COVID-19 quarantine units, night shifts, working
with confirmed or suspected co-workers, monthly salary income, and inadequate
hospital resources.
Conclusion: This review found that nurses were suffering from high to moderate
emotional exhaustion levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, several
organizational factors influence this emotional exhaustion. These findings
highlight the necessity for urgent interventions to decrease psychological impacts
on frontline nurses.

Creator

Rana Alaseeri1

, Omar Ghazi Baker2, Maram Banakhar3

Source

https://doi.org/10.14710/nmjn.v13i1.46399

Date

19 April 2023

Contributor

PERI IRAWAN

Format

PDF

Language

ENGLISH

Type

TEXT

Files

Collection

Citation

Rana Alaseeri1 , Omar Ghazi Baker2, Maram Banakhar3, “The Prevalence of Nurses’ Emotional Exhaustion during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed February 21, 2026, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/11168.