The DOI matches its Crossref record; 51 of the 52 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Prevalence, Risk Factors and Burnout Levels in Intensive Care Unit Nurses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Open accessAbstract
Nursing is considered to be an at-risk profession of burnout due to daily exposure to difficult situations such as death and pain care. In addition, some units such as the intensive care unit (ICU), can be stressful due to high levels of morbidity and mortality and ethical dilemmas. Burnout causes a deterioration in quality of care, increasing the risk of mortality in patients due to poor performance and errors in the healthcare environment. The aim of this study was to analyse the levels, prevalence and related factors of burnout in ICU nurses. A systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out in the Medline, Scopus and CINAHL databases. Fifteen articles were found for the systematic review and four for the meta-analysis. With a sample of n = 1986 nurses, the meta-analytic estimate prevalence for high emotional exhaustion was 31% (95% CI, 8–59%), for high depersonalization was 18% (95% CI, 8–30%), and for low personal accomplishment was 46% (95% CI, 20–74%). Within the dimensions of burnout, emotional exhaustion had a significant relationship with depression and personality factors. Both sociodemographic factors (being younger, single marital status, and having less professional experience in ICU) and working conditions (workload and working longer hours) influence the risk of burnout syndrome.
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“According to most recent studies, approximately half of physicians and nurses in the US report significant burnout symptoms in the form of high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization, and/or a low sense of personal accomplishment.3-5”
From What do we really know about addressing burnout among healthcare workers? Maybe less than we think (2026) · cites this paper as [4]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
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“According to the existing literature, emotional exhaustion is closely related to levels of depressive symptomatology, especially in the early stages of the pandemic (49, 52).”
From Evolution of burnout syndrome in Spanish healthcare professionals during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: psychosocial variables involved (2025) · cites this paper as [52]
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“This is consistent with previous studies that relate cognitive fusion (54) and depression (49, 52) to emotional exhaustion, and low levels of resilience with burnout (55, 56).”
From Evolution of burnout syndrome in Spanish healthcare professionals during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: psychosocial variables involved (2025) · cites this paper as [52]
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Cited by
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Quesada-Puga, C., Izquierdo-Espín, F. J., Membrive‐Jiménez, M. J., Aguayo‐Estremera, R., la Fuente, G. A. C., Romero‐Béjar, J. L., & Gómez‐Urquiza, J. L. (2024) · Intensive and Critical Care Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.iccn.2024.103660 · Cited by 210
Self-citationPapazian, L., Hraiech, S., Loundou, A., Herridge, M. S., & Boyer, L. (2023) · Intensive Care Medicine · doi:10.1007/s00134-023-07025-8 · Cited by 198
Bruyneel, A., Bouckaert, N., de Noordhout, C. M., Detollenaere, J., Kohn, L., Pirson, M., Sermeus, W., & den Heede, K. V. (2022) · International Journal of Nursing Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2022.104385 · Cited by 157
Ge, M., Hu, F., Jia, Y., Tang, W. H., Zhang, W., & Chen, H. (2023) · Journal of Clinical Nursing · doi:10.1111/jocn.16708 · Cited by 170
Getie, ፟., Ayenew, T., Amlak, B. T., Gedfew, M., Edmealem, A., & Kebede, W. M. (2025) · BMC Nursing · doi:10.1186/s12912-025-03266-8 · Cited by 126
Metadata
- Authors
- Ramírez-Elvira, S., Romero-Béjar, J. L., Suleiman-Martos, N., Gómez-Urquiza, J. L., Monsalve-Reyes, C., Cañadas-De la Fuente, G. A., & Albendín-García, L.
- Affiliations
- Vall d'Hebron Hospital Universitari (ES)
- Statistics and Operational Research Department, University of Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva S/N, 18071 Granada, Spain
- Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Campus Universitario de Ceuta, University of Granada, C/Cortadura del Valle S/N, 51001 Ceuta, Spain
- Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción (CL)
- Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, Avda. de la Ilustración 60, 18016 Granada, Spain
- Andalusian Health Service, Granada-Northeast Health Management Area, Ctra. de Murcia S/N, 18800 Granada, Spain
- ORCID
- Venue
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2021-10-30
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 21
- Pages
- 11432
- ISSN
- 1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8583312
- OpenAlex
- W3209574741
- Cited by
- 267
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 61 · 2025: 82 · 2024: 66 · 2023: 41 · 2022: 17
- FWCI
- 7.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Institutional Repository of the University of Granada (University of Granada) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Occupational Health and Burnout
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
- Keywords
- burnout, intensive care unit nurses, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment, risk factors, depression, personality factors, sociodemographic factors, workload, working hours
- MeSH terms
- Burnout, Psychological, Burnout, Professional, Humans, Intensive Care Units, Nurses, Risk Factors, Prevalence
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