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Psychological And Physiological Stress And Burnout Among Maternity Providers In A Rural County In Kenya: Individual And Situational Predictors, Patience A. Afulani, Linnet Ongeri, Joyceline Kinyua, Marleen Temmerman, Wendy Berry Mendes, Sandra J. Weiss

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Background: Stress and burnout among healthcare workers has been recognized as a global crisis needing urgent attention. Yet few studies have examined stress and burnout among healthcare providers in sub-Saharan Africa, and even fewer among maternity providers who work under very stressful conditions. To address these gaps, we examined self-reported stress and burnout levels as well as stress-related physiologic measures of these providers, along with their potential predictors.

Methods: Participants included 101 maternity providers (62 nurses/midwives, 16 clinical officers/doctors, and 23 support staff) in western Kenya. Respondents completed Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale, the Shirom-Melamed Burnout scale, and other …