Review found widespread nurse burnout during the pandemic
Studies across multiple countries reported a high prevalence of burnout, with differences by age and setting. The review did not test ways to prevent it.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Burnout was common among nurses in the included pandemic-era studies. Reported prevalence differed by age, country income, and cultural setting, but those associations do not explain why burnout occurred. The findings describe the scale and distribution of reported burnout; they do not show that the pandemic caused every case or identify an effective intervention.
The abstract does not provide a confidence interval for overall burnout prevalence or describe how burnout definitions compared across studies. Separate symptom estimates came from different collections of studies.
What researchers found
Overall burnout prevalence
Across 19 studies during the pandemic; a descriptive estimate without an intervention comparator or a reported confidence interval.
Overall burnout and its components
The review separately summarized emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. These component estimates should not be added together or assumed to describe the same set of nurses as the overall burnout estimate.
Group differences need context
Higher burnout prevalence was reported among older nurses, nurses in higher-income countries, and those in Western settings. These comparisons identify patterns in the included data, without establishing that age, income, or culture caused burnout.
The original publication
Prevalence and risk factors of burnout symptoms among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.
Fekih-Romdhane F, Harb F, Al Banna S et al.
Hum Resour Health · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40877925
- Record checked
AI-assisted research and writing. This explains one selected publication; it is not a complete review of everything known. Our approach.
One more question, understood.
Keep track of the research you’ve explored.