Burnout, resilience and engagement in portuguese nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic suddenly changed job con-texts and overloaded nurses with unforeseen tasks, having a negative impact on their mental and psychological health. Viewed as "angels on earth", they play a key role in this pandemic management, while studies have shown that frontline nurses have high levels of burn-out. However, engagement and resilience can be protective factors against burnout. Objectives: This study aims to identify burnout, resilience and engagement levels in nurses, as well to analyze their interrelationship and their variation according to sociodemographic/professional characteristics. Methodology: The data were collected online using the 'snowball method' with voluntary participation, applying the Portuguese versions of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and Resilience Scale. A sample of 328 Portuguese nurses participated anonymously and voluntarily, being 77% women, 62% with a graduation, 84% working by shifts, 90% with definitive bond. They had an average age of 32.91 years and an average of 9.94 years of service. Results: The results revealed moderate levels of burnout, engagement and resilience, although 37% presented low engagement. There is a significant positive correlation between engagement and resilience, and a negative correlation between engagement and burnout. There was greater exhaustion in nurses working in rotating shifts and in women, and greater disengagement in nurses with children. Regression analysis revealed that 31% of exhaustion is explained by engagement, 3% by professional variables and 2% by resilience, while disengagement is explained 40% by engagement. Engagement is explained 84% by resilience and only 2% by burnout, while resilience is only explained 9% by engagement. Discussion: The moderate levels of burnout among these nurses confirm the need for their prevention, particularly with effective interventions at the individual, collective and organizational levels. Conclusion: Being resilience and engagement protective factors of burnout, it is important to alert nurses to the adoption of chronic and/or intense stress management strategies in their work. Moreover, they need to take care of themselves, since burnout is increasing in the "COVID era", reducing the performance and individual health.