The Experience of Burnout of Rehabilitation Therapists in Long-Term Care Settings: A Qualitative Exploration

Background: Burnout among health care workers is growing among long-term care staff, with various repercussions. Research about how rehabilitation therapists (occupational, physical, and speech) perceive and experience burnout in such settings is limited. Understanding these experiences with burnout in long-term care is necessary to address burnout. This study investigated rehabilitation therapists' perceptions of and experiences with burnout while working in long-term care. Method: The researcher used a qualitative interpretive approach to guide audio-recorded and transcribed interviews. The data were analyzed through coding and then themes were developed. Results: Six themes emerged: causes of stress and burnout, individual ways of managing stress and burnout, systemic changes for managing stress and burnout, COVID-19 and mental health, the definition of burnout, and change over time in work experience. Discussion: Rehabilitation therapists should feel empowered to advocate for policies that reduce burnout in the workplace. One policy all of the participants acknowledged was that productivity expectations were unrealistic. Future research, advocacy, and policy should address systemic and organizational factors related to burnout to relieve the related consequences. Comments The authors declare that they have no competing financial, professional, or personal interest that might have influenced the performance or presentation of the work described in this manuscript. Keywords burnout, long-term care, memory deficits, rehabilitation therapists