Burnout was common among nurses during the pandemic
A research synthesis estimated widespread burnout and found associations with mental health difficulties and intentions to leave nursing roles.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The pooled evidence suggests burnout affected a substantial share of nurses during the pandemic. Higher burnout was associated with depression, anxiety, stress and intentions to leave. These links do not establish that burnout caused those outcomes, and intending to leave a role is different from actually leaving it.
The abstract does not explain differences in burnout definitions or study quality across the included articles, limiting how precisely the pooled prevalence can be interpreted.
What researchers found
Pooled prevalence of nurse burnout
During the pandemic across included studies; this is a prevalence estimate, with no control-group comparison. Individual observation periods are not reported.
Work setting mattered in the associations
Nurses exposed to the pandemic virus, and those working in emergency departments or intensive care, had higher burnout scores than nurses in general wards. The abstract reports associations rather than an experimental comparison of workplaces.
The review did not test a solution
The authors call for organizational efforts to address burnout. However, the results summarized here concern prevalence and associated factors; they do not show that any particular support program reduced burnout or staff departures.
The original publication
The impact of health emergencies on nurses' burnout: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Liang Y, Peng H, Luo X et al.
BMC Public Health · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40830785
- Record checked
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