Author(s): Elizabeth Lernihan
Department: Kerry Parents and Friends Association.
Keywords: Communication, Burnout and Intellectual Disability.
(29 Jul 2009)
To examine the extent to which working with people with communication
difficulties and ID is associated with feelings of Emotional
Exhaustion, Depersonalisation and a Lack of Personal Achievement in
direct care workers and to examine if this leads to burnout. A further
objective is to determine if there is an association between length of
experience, academic and training levels and area of work with
experiences of burnout.
Rationale: Staff within services for people with ID are faced daily
with situations where they are interacting with people with
communication difficulties while trying to provide a quality service.
Studies highlight the need for intervention for staff that are
experiencing negative emotional reactions as these should be seen as
early warning signs of burnout.
Method: A quantitative approach using a cross sectional descriptive design was adopted for this study.
Results/ findings: The results showed that staff experienced a moderate
to high level of emotional exhaustion, a low level of depersonalisation
yet reported a high level of personal accomplishment. No staff member
suffered from all three aspects of burnout.