Weir Francesca Unity, Ramano Enos M, Balbadhur Raashmi
Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health Care Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Br J Occup Ther. 2024 Mar;87(3):181-189. doi: 10.1177/03080226231206678. Epub 2023 Oct 30.
South African occupational therapists, working in mental healthcare, are exposed to chronic stress; this can lead to their experiencing symptoms of burnout. There has been a call for research to explore the experiences of stress and burnout that occupational therapists encounter whilst working in different contexts, and this article presents findings from a study focused on the field of mental healthcare in Gauteng, South Africa.
Thirteen occupational therapists participated in the study using qualitative and descriptive methods. The study sample was selected using purposive and snowball sampling. Data were collected via online focus group discussions and underwent thematic analysis according to open coding.
This article presents the findings of theme one, as part of a greater dissemination of findings, where the participants described their stress and burnout as a personal psychological experience. This involved the experience of emotional burden, strained interpersonal relationships and feelings of failure. The participants perceived their stress as a fluctuating experience and, a portion of the participants, felt that they had experienced burnout.
The negative personal psychological impact of stress and burnout on occupational therapists working in South Africa, in the field of mental healthcare, has been well indicated in the study.
在南非从事精神卫生保健工作的职业治疗师面临着长期压力，这可能导致他们出现职业倦怠症状。有人呼吁开展研究，以探索职业治疗师在不同工作环境中所经历的压力和职业倦怠情况，本文介绍了一项聚焦于南非豪登省精神卫生保健领域的研究结果。
13名职业治疗师参与了该研究，采用定性和描述性方法。研究样本通过立意抽样和滚雪球抽样选取。数据通过在线焦点小组讨论收集，并根据开放编码进行主题分析。
作为研究结果更广泛传播的一部分，本文呈现了主题一的研究结果，其中参与者将他们的压力和职业倦怠描述为一种个人心理体验。这包括情感负担、紧张的人际关系和失败感等体验。参与者将他们的压力视为一种波动的体验，并且一部分参与者感到他们经历过职业倦怠。
该研究充分表明了压力和职业倦怠对在南非精神卫生保健领域工作的职业治疗师产生的负面个人心理影响。
