Research sheds light on burnout and pandemic response among healthcare workers in the Yukon

Dr. Liris Smith, Assistant Professor and Health Research Chair at Yukon University, has published an article in the International Journal of Circumpolar Health, highlighting the urgent need to support frontline healthcare workers in the Yukon and beyond.

The study, conducted in the Yukon Territory, explores the perspectives of nurses and physicians to better understand what factors may help mitigate burnout and strengthen healthcare system responses to COVID-19 and future public health emergencies.

Conducted in two phases – the completion of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) and in-depth oral interviews – the study offers a nuanced view of healthcare worker experiences during the pandemic. A hybrid thematic analysis of 38 interviews revealed five core themes: personal impacts; work-related effects; client effects and patient care; perceptions of the territorial response to COVID-19; and recommendations for future pandemics.

The research uncovered that personal burnout was attributed to the loss of social connections and the burden of childcare. At work, burnout stemmed from stressful environments, overwhelming workloads, limited resources, and feeling undervalued. Despite these challenges, many healthcare workers found purpose in their roles, which helped reduce patient-related burnout.

“This research amplifies the voices of Yukon's frontline health care workers, shedding light on the challenges they faced and the opportunities they seized during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Mark Christopher, a former research assistant at the Yukon Research Centre and now a medical student at UBC. “I am deeply inspired by the resilience, selflessness, and dedication of Yukon's nurses and physicians as they worked tirelessly to safeguard the wellbeing of their communities. I hope this research serves as a valuable resource to guide strategies that support and empower frontline workers in future health emergencies.”

The study serves as a call to action for policy makers, healthcare leaders, and governments to prioritize sustainable support systems for healthcare professionals, both in crisis and in recovery.

“I think what was important about this work, is that we approached it with a collaboration that included people from the health care professional organizations and people with lived experience, who were co-authors on the paper,” says Dr. Liris Smith.

The article was authored by Liris Smith (lead author), Mark Christopher, Cody MacInnis, Janelle Yasay, Kat Secord, Paul Banks, Cindy Breitkreutz, Adam Mackie, Michelle Leach.