Burnout Syndrome Among Critical Care Nurses After COVID-19 Pandemic: An International Single-Centre Study in Croatia and Poland

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Many frontline healthcare professionals had not previously faced a crisis of the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, and prolonged exposure to high-stress clinical environments may adversely affect psychological well-being. This study aimed to assess and compare burnout severity among critical care nurses in two clinical settings—one hospital in Croatia and one in Poland—with particular attention to emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment in the post-pandemic period. Methods: A cross-sectional comparative design was conducted across two hospitals (Croatia and Poland). Data were collected from 346 critical care nurses between September and December 2023. Burnout was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey, analyzed primarily as continuous scores across its three dimensions. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in continuous burnout scores (Emotional Exhaustion p = 0.224, Depersonalization p = 0.852, Personal Accomplishment p = 0.636, total MBI score p = 0.394). Secondary cut-off-based analyses yielded some categorical differences, including a higher proportion classified as having high burnout in the Polish sample (43.2%) than in the Croatian sample (31.5%); however, these findings were exploratory and should not be interpreted as overriding the primary continuous-score results. Regression analyses demonstrated low explanatory power, with education level emerging as a significant predictor only in the Croatian sample (OR = 0.320, 95% CI: 0.125–0.824, p = 0.018). Conclusions: Burnout severity did not differ significantly between the two clinical settings when assessed using continuous measures. These findings suggest that burnout among ICU nurses may be driven primarily by shared occupational and organizational stressors rather than setting-specific differences. Categorical findings should be interpreted as complementary and exploratory.