Where people burnout most during COVID-19

Woman with head in hands

Research is identifying the regions where working adults are more likely to burnout during the COVID-19 crisis.聽The key is the distance to the epicentre 鈥 but not how you might imagine.

The results have revealed that those who were the closest to the epicentre of the Coronavirus crisis were not the most burned out during the pandemic.

Researchers from the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide, the Southwestern 最新糖心Vlog of Finance and Economics, and Tongji 最新糖心Vlog, surveyed 308 working adults in 53 cities across China, at varying distances from the epicentre of the outbreak in Wuhan.

The researchers used individuals鈥 locations to calculate their distance to the epicentre. This location to the epicentre was found to predict burnout after one month of the COVID-19 outbreak. Burnout refers to an emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion due to excessive and prolonged stress of being overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and incapable to meet constant demands.

Led by Dr Stephen Zhang from the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide, the study, published in , shows that working adults鈥 distance to the epicentre had an inverted 鈥楿-shaped鈥 relationship with burnout.

鈥淭his finding differs from previous studies that found a crisis spurred either a 鈥榬ipple effect鈥 or 鈥榯yphoon eye effect鈥 from its centre,鈥 Stephen said.

This research provides evidence on mental health issues and their predictors during COVID-19 and can help mental health services to rapidly screen people to identify the groups that are more susceptible to聽issues.

Further details about this story聽and other research by the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide can be found in our聽Newsroom.

Tagged in mental health, pandemic, COVID-19