JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Korean immigrants are among the fastest-growing ethnic minority groups and make up the fifth largest Asian group in the United States. A better understanding of the work environment factors and its impact on Korean American (KA) healthcare provider (HCP) burnout may guide the development of targeted strategies to help mitigate burnout and workplace stressors, which is critical for recruitment and retention of KA HCPs to promote better alignment of national demographic trends and meet patients’ preference for cultural congruence with HCPs.

Objective:

The purpose of this study, therefore, is to assess burnout among KA HCPs and to identify work conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic that may be associated with KA HCP burnout.

Methods:

A total of 184 KA HCPs (Nurses: n=97; Other HCPs: n=87) practicing in Southern California responded to an online survey between February-April 2021. The Maslach Burnout Inventory, Areas of Worklife Survey, and Pandemic Experience & Perceptions Survey were used to measure KA HCP burnout and work environment factors during the pandemic. A multivariate linear regression analysis was used to assess for work environment factors associated with the three sub-categories of burnout.

Results:

No significant differences were found in level of burnout experienced by KA nurses and other KA HCPs. For KA nurses, however, higher workload was associated with higher emotional exhaustion (EE, P=.002) and depersonalization (DP, P=.003), while a greater sense of (professional) community was associated with higher personal accomplishment (PA, P<.001). For other KA HCPs, greater workload (P<.001) and lower sense of control (P=.01) were associated with higher EE. A less favorable worklife (P<.001) was associated with higher DP and more favorable worklife (P=.002) was associated with higher PA.

Conclusions:

Findings from this study underscore the importance of strategies to promote a healthy work environment across multiple levels that recognize demographic variation among HCPs potentially influencing their burnout mitigation needs. A growing recognition of identity-informed burnout experiences across frontline KA HCPs argues for future explorations that capture nuance both across and within this and other ethnic minority HCP groups. By recognizing and capturing these variations, we may better support the creation of targeted burnout mitigating strategies for all.