Art as Therapy. Reducing Symptoms of Burnout Syndrome Among Healthcare Personnel in Hospitals by Means of Artistic Interventions
Art as Therapy. Reducing Symptoms of Burnout Syndrome Among Healthcare Personnel in Hospitals by Means of Artistic Interventions

Summary/Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major social and cultural impact, to such an extent that coping with everyday life has become synonym with exhaustion and anxiety. Highly present among the jobs that require exposure to a risky and challenging working environment, the burnout syndrome has affected different micro-communities – one of the most vulnerable being that of healthcare workers. Daily exposure to the risk of infection, extended hours, the absence of resources and the battle with a virus whose evolution and lifespan are impossible to estimate have affected the mental health of the medical personnel. The study carried out in 2021 at “Dr. Victor Babeș” Hospital in Timișoara – where hospital administration aimed to assess the level of exhaustion of their staff – showed that 56,37% of respondents had either a medium or high burnout level, 55,88% felt emotionally exhausted, 67,16% had a high stress level and 64,22% were experiencing concernment. Having identified their needs, the 9th edition of the socio-cultural intervention Art therapy by Create.Act.Enjoy (2021) – produced by the Create.Act.Enjoy Association in Romanian hospitals – focused on implementing artistic activities that contribute to diminishing the symptoms of burnout syndrome among medical personnel. Based on specific performing arts methods, the intervention was carried out by professional actors, experienced in using art as therapy. In the nine years since its foundation, Art Therapy by CAE became a unique intervention, participatory, assigned to the public health service, being motivated by the fact that well-being is the result of a well-balanced mental and emotional state – besides financial satisfaction – and a social life that enables access to culture. The paper analyses the impact and the outcome of the intervention among the medical staff in six hospitals from two perspectives: qualitative: methodology, creation and implementation; quantitative: the result of the study The impact of artistic interventions on healthcare workers in Romania during the COVID-19 pandemic, created by Create.Act.Enjoy and Cluj Cultural Center.

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