Developing a Psychosocial Support Framework for Healthcare Workers Managing Burnout in Nigerian Hospitals

Healthcare worker burnout in Nigerian tertiary hospitals represents both an individual health concern and a systemic patient safety risk, and a professional psychosocial support framework adapted to Nigerian hospital conditions is needed to address this growing challenge. This study developed a psychosocial support framework for managing burnout among healthcare workers in Nigerian tertiary hospitals, with reference case contexts from Lagos University Teaching Hospital and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. A framework development approach was adopted, integrating literature review, burnout risk profiling through the Maslach Burnout Inventory administered to 180 healthcare workers, and focus group consultations with 24 departmental welfare officers and six hospital clinical psychologists. The burnout risk profiling identified nursing staff (68.4 percent with high emotional exhaustion) and emergency medicine staff (62.1 percent) as the highest-risk groups. Key drivers were excessive workload, inadequate resources, poor management support, and limited work-life boundary enforcement. The psychosocial support framework developed encompasses six components: workplace burnout screening protocol, peer support programme design, supervisory management training, employee counselling access pathways, wellness policy advocacy, and crisis de-briefing procedures. Implementation guidelines and resource requirements for Nigerian hospital contexts are specified. Expert review by eight occupational health and counselling professionals confirmed the framework's clinical grounding and practical feasibility. The study recommends piloting the framework in two teaching hospitals and evaluating burnout outcomes at 12 months post-implementation.

Keywords: burnout, healthcare workers, psychosocial support, Nigerian hospitals, occupational counselling