AD ALTA
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
1.2 Self-care as the basis for development of prevention and
intervention programs
Self-care represents a set of consciously and purposefully
executed activities which enable an individual to maintain or
return to the state of physical and psychological well-being
(Lovaš, Hricová, 2015). These are represented by different types
of activities in several domains of self-care (Lichner, Lovaš,
2016). The performance of these activities in preventing one
from developing burnout syndrome has been supported by
several studies. For example, Richards et al. (2010) found that
there is a relationship between burnout and these self-care
activities and indications for a positive influence on the
subjective well-being on employees was also found. According
to these authors (Richards et al., 2010), self-care activities are
related to the physical, psychological, spiritual as well as
professional sphere. Barnett et al. (2007) has added that self-
care acts as a buffer, protects against and minimizes the
symptoms related to burnout as well as other negative
consequences of helping. Activities which can decrease overload
are represented by the ability to set priorities, searching for
social support, time management of tasks, reappraisal or self-
monitoring. Jones (2005) highlights the traditional means of
decreasing the risk of burnout by adherence to a healthy lifestyle
and mental hygiene (open conversation about problems and
feelings; healthy diet; sufficient level of rest and exercise;
avoidance of risk behavior; using relaxation techniques).
The effectiveness of self-care prevention programs whether
based on raising awareness of different self-care techniques and
mastering them individually or under the supervision of a
professional has been documented in a number of studies (Awa,
Plaumann, Walter, 2010; Lindo et al., 2015). For example,
Alkema et al. (2008) found evidence for a positive effect of an
educational program which focused on coping with stress and
was carried out among nurses on the level of emotional
exhaustion as an important component of burnout. Newell and
Macneil (2010) emphasize that it is important to increase
competencies in self-care as part of any professional training.
They highlight that it is important to teach students to be able to
detect the key symptoms and warning signs of professional
burnout as well as teach them the strategies and techniques of
self-care as an important means of preventing burnout (Newell,
Macneil, 2010).
The aim of the present study is to evaluate the level of burnout
among helping professionals in Slovakia and investigate, on one
hand, which activities they use to deal with work stress and on
the other, which activities they would like use at their workplace.
2. Method
2.1 Research sample
The sample consisted of helping professionals employed in state
and private social-care institutions. The institutions were
selected randomly in all eight Slovak regions from the list of
social-care providers which is available on the web-site of the
Ministry or Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak
Republic (https://www.employment.gov.sk/sk). Then, the selected
institutions were contacted by telephone and after agreeing, data
collection was carried out. This was done by posting batteries of
questionnaires which consisted of seven questionnaires and a set of
open questions focused on positive and negative consequences of
helping. The response rate was 71%.
The sample consisted of 745 helping professionals (89%
women), age ranged 20-65 years (M = 44.04; SD = 10.33) and
work experience 0-44 years (M = 13.11; SD = 10.49). The
following helping professions were represented in the sample:
health professionals (32.1%), educators (26.3%), social workers
(26.2%), psychologists, teachers and therapists (13.2%) and
managers (1.7%). All respondents worked directly with their
clients and the time spent in direct contact with clients per week
was represented in our sample as follows: less than 3 hours
(2.6%), 3-10 hours (14.9 %), 11-18 hours (12.2 %), 19-27 hours
(11.1 %), 28-36 hours (26.7 %), more than 36 hours (31.3 %).
2.2 Measures
Three measuring instruments were used in this study:
The Maslach burnout inventory (MBI-HS; Maslach et al., 2006),
Slovak translation. The instrument consists of 22 items
measuring the level of burnout syndrome, i.e. the level of
emotional exhaustion (e.g. "I feel emotionally drained from my
work."), depersonalization (e.g. "I don´t really care what
happens to some recipients.") and reduced personal
accomplishment (reverse coded, e.g. "I feel I´m positively
influencing other people´s lives through my work.").
Respondents indicate the frequency of experiencing work-related
feelings using a 7-point scale (0 = never; 6 = every day). The
internal consistency estimates (Cronbach alpha) for emotional
exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment
were .90, .79 and .71, respectively (Maslach et al., 2006). In the
current research, the Cronbach alpha estimates were .878 for
emotional exhaustion, .601 for depersonalization and .768 for
personal accomplishment. A translation agreement number TA-
673 was purchased to create and use the Slovak version of the
questionnaire. The English version was created by back-
translation.
Professional quality of life scale (ProQOL; Stamm, 2010; Slovak
adaptation Köverová, 2016). The professional quality of life
scale consists of 30 items measuring the level of the positive and
negative effects of helping. For the purposes of this study, only
burnout subscale was used in the analyses (10 items, e.g. "I feel
trapped by my job as a helper."). The answers are rated on a 5-
point scale (1 = never; 5 = always). Higher scores indicate higher
levels of burnout. Stamm (2005) has reported adequate internal
consistency (Cronbach alpha) for burnout subscale (.90). In the
present study, internal consistency (Cronbach alpha) for burnout
subscale was .690. The author's permission to use ProQOL for
research purposes was obtained through the online form at
http://www.proqol.org/Request_Use_Permission_WTRJ.html.
We consider it necessary to explain that the purpose of using two
similar methods was to capture a wider range of symptoms of
burnout, since the administered ProQOL questionnaire concerns
mainly symptoms of emotional fatigue (Figley, 2002, Stamm,
2010).
Open questions. Three sub-sets of questions developed by the
authors were administered together with the battery of
questionnaires. The questions addressed the issue of perceived
sources of stress by respondents as well as stress reducing
strategies used within the workplace. Since these questions were
added as an additional part of the questionnaire battery and their
completion was voluntary, the response rate to these questions
was lower than that to the questionnaires. In total, 135
respondents provided answers to the open questions. For the
purposes of this study, the question: Do you use any stress
reduction activities at your workplace to reduce stress resulting
from helping? (Additional questions: If yes, which?; If no,
would you welcome this kind of activity at your workplace? If
yes, would you be able to provide suggestions which activities
could be helpful? Which areas should these activities target,
which areas should they be related to, so they can help to reduce
the stress caused by helping?).
2.3 Statistical analyses
Descriptive and differential statistics (t-tests, ANOVA) were
used in the analysis of the MBI and the ProQOL and the data
were analysed using the IBM SPSS 21. The responses to the
open questions were analysed by using the content analysis.
3. Results
3.1 Description of the subscales of the MBI-HS
The results of the analysis suggest that, in general, helping
professionals experience only low levels of burnout syndrome. A
closer look at the individual components of MBI-HS shows that
- 162 -