Professional burnout among nurses working in palliative care
an integrative review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18554/refacs.8949Keywords:
Burnout, professional, Burnout, psychological, Nursing, Palliative care, Occupational healthAbstract
Objective: to investigate scientific evidence regarding professional burnout among nurses providing palliative care. Methods: an integrative review was conducted, searching the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS) and Nursing Database (BDENF) via the Virtual Health Library portal, as well as the National Library of Medicine, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase databases. The search covered the period from 2020 to 2025 and included studies in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. Selection was performed by two independent reviewers, and the studies were critically analyzed and organized into thematic categories. Results: a total of 907 studies were identified, 18 of which comprised the final sample. There was a predominance of international, quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional studies, classified as Level VI evidence. Findings revealed moderate to high levels of professional burnout among palliative care nurses, with emotional exhaustion identified as the most prevalent dimension. Key associated factors included workload, administrative demands, human resource shortages, and continuous exposure to suffering and death. Conversely, factors such as resilience, social support, peer support, and the meaning attributed to caregiving were identified as protective elements. Conclusion: professional burnout is a recurring condition among nurses working in palliative care, influenced by organizational and emotional factors. The need for institutional strategies aimed at promoting mental health is highlighted.
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