Assessment of parental guilt and professional burnout amongst Gozitan nurses

Abstract

Background: The rise in dual-earner families and longer working hours globally has made work-family balance difficult, thus giving rise to work-family conflicting emotions, such as parental guilt. Such conflict has negatively affected the parents’ wellbeing, their profession, and their children. Anecdotal evidence reports that women tend to experience higher levels of parental guilt; however, little research has evaluated such difference, particularly locally. Nurses` working conditions have made them more prone to suffer from such conflicts, and it has been reported worldwide that such imbalance has been undermining overall health outcomes since nurses tend to deliver poor quality care thereby increasing the burden of illnesses. Objectives: This study aimed to gain an initial understanding of the levels of parental guilt and professional burnout in order to identify any possible association between the two, while determining whether gender differences of parental guilt exist. Design: A quantitative non-experimental cross-sectional design. Settings: Gozo General Hospital. Participants: One hundred and seventeen Gozitan nurses who were parents were invited to participate in this study, amounting to 75% response rate. Methods: Participants were asked to complete a set of demographic questions together with two questionnaires, namely, the Professional Quality of Life scale (ProQOL-5) and the Guilt about Parenting Scale (GAPS). Results: Both mothers and fathers shared similar levels of moderate burnout and high levels of parental guilt. Moreover, Gozitan nurses reported that they did not receive any form of child support at their workplace. This non-supportive work environment correlated significantly with high levels of parental guilt, hence increased work-family conflict. Conclusion: This study has unveiled several issues that Gozitan nurses are facing every day that must be addressed to decrease the levels of burnout and parental guilt. Therefore, family-friendly measures need to be implemented to decrease the levels of burnout, ultimately improving quality care.