Job satisfaction, job stress, burnout and coping strategies among eye care providers at a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Background: Ophthalmic care, a unique field in medical practice needs specialized training and skill development.

Objectives: To assess the level of job satisfaction, job stress, burnout and coping strategies among health care workers at National Eye Hospital Colombo (NEHC).

Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among health care workers at NEHC by administering a questionnaire from February to March 2020.

Results: Majority of the study group (n=426) was Sinhala (96.7%), married (79.6%) and female (73.7%). Half the respondents were (n=213) satisfied with their job, 23% (n= 98) had job stress, while 0.9% (n= 4) had burnout. Work overload (p<0.001), lack of training in ophthalmic care (p<0.05), unfavorable physical environment (p<0. 05) and conflicts with supervisors (p<0.05) were associated with job stress. Good relationship with co-workers (p<0.05) and ability to perform the required task at expected level (p<0.005) were associated with job satisfaction. The Brief-COPE yielded ten factors accounting for 69.3% of the variance. Respondents scored higher on problem solving, followed by social support and religion. Higher level of job satisfaction was significantly (p<0.05) associated with positive coping strategies.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates the importance of coping strategies for health workers’ job satisfaction. Implementing a formal system to provide professional support and mentorship, reducing the patients to staff ratio by proper allocation of human resources, training on ophthalmic care, managing the overcrowding, providing adequate eye care equipment &personal protective equipment (designed for eye care) would be the remedial measures for reducing work stress.