%0 Journal Article
%T Factors involved in nurses' responses to burnout: a grounded theory study
%A Forough Rafii
%A Fatemeh Oskouie
%A Mansoure Nikravesh
%J BMC Nursing
%D 2004
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1472-6955-3-6
%X Grounded theory was used as the method. Thirty- eight participants were recruited. Data were generated by unstructured interviews and 21 sessions of participant observations. Constant comparison was used for data analysis.Nurses' and patients' personal characteristics and social support influenced nurses' responses to burnout. Personal characteristics of the nurses and patients, especially when interacting, had a more powerful effect. They altered emotional, attitudinal, behavioral and organizational responses to burnout and determined the kind of caring behavior. Social support had a palliative effect and altered emotional responses and some aspects of attitudinal responses.The powerful effect of positive personal characteristics and its sensitivity to long standing and intense organizational pressures suggests approaches to executing stress reduction programs and refreshing the nurses' morale by giving more importance to ethical aspects of caring. Moreover, regarding palliative effect of social support and its importance for the nurses' wellbeing, nurse executives are responsible for promoting a work environment that supports nurses and motivates them.Working in a burn unit has been described as a stressful occupation [1]. Every nurse who cares for a burn victim knows that stress is a part of working in this field. Some authors have emphasized that these nurses experience dealing with self-inflicted burns, uncooperative patients, inter-staff conflicts and dying patients on a daily basis [2]. Unresolved job stress may results in emotional withdrawal and burnout [1]. Professional burnout has been defined as a syndrome manifested by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment [3]. Nurses who have worked in burn centers of Tehran have experienced burnout in comparison to nurses working in other areas. The main researcher's previous study of burnout and coping in burn centers of Tehran indicated that the majority of nurses had been expe
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