Burnout and coping in direct care staff providing services to individuals with traumatic brain injuries

The purpose of this study is to measure levels of burnout and types of coping strategies used by direct care staff working with individuals with traumatic brain injuries, in order to address the high levels of burnout usually experienced by direct care staff, as well as the coping strategies that may or may not be effective in managing burnout. This researcher is assessing if specific coping strategies predict levels of burnout (low, moderate, high) in direct care staff working with individuals with traumatic brain injury. Professional caregivers working with individuals who have sustained traumatic brain injuries face unique challenges in their care-giving role, which contribute greatly to higher levels of experienced burnout. One of the most important predictors of successful participant outcomes in traumatic brain injury rehabilitation is the work performance of direct care staff. The significance of this study is to help traumatic brain injury rehabilitation employers address and potentially prevent high levels of burnout in direct care staff. Nineteen direct care staff working in neurorehabilitation facilities were surveyed via an internet survey. They completed the 22-item Maslach Burnout Inventory and the 60-item COPE questionnaire. All direct care staff reported moderate to high levels of burnout. A factor analysis was conducted with the COPE subscales to group coping strategies as an active or passive method of coping. Five components resulted from this. A regression analysis was used to discover if specific coping strategies predict levels of burnout. The coping strategies utilized by direct care staff did not predict levels of burnout. The findings of this study indicate that direct care staff working with the TBI population are burned out, but there are no specific coping strategies that predict the level of burnout.