Burnout is a psychological condition consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment and identity. Since the start of the pandemic, a significant increase in burnout has been reported by healthcare professionals, however, there is little known regarding the experiences of athletic trainers (ATs). PURPOSE: The purpose of our study was to investigate the association between burnout and COVID-19 related factors among ATs. METHODS: An electronic survey grouped by the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Survey, COVID-19 related workplace policies, and demographics was sent to 1,000 ATs through the National Athletic Trainer’s Association email listserv; participants were also recruited via a social media link. Pearson correlations or Kendall’s tau non-parametric correlations were used to measure the strength of the association between burnout and COVID-19 job-related items. One-way ANOVA was used to determine any differences between burnout scores across demographic factors. RESULTS: 81 ATs (age: 34.72 ± 11.27 y; career experience: 11.7 ± 10.6 y) across the US completed the survey (6% response rate). Emotional exhaustion depersonalization (EEDP) burnout was identified among 33.3% of the respondents. Correlations were found between EEDP burnout and poor financial compensation for increased responsibilities (n= 81; r=.212, p=.042), work hour alterations (n=78; r=.217, p=.037) and workload changes (n=78; r=.158, p=.128). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the COVID-19 pandemic changed the AT profession in novel ways. Moving forward, researchers should aim for a better understanding on the long-term effects of COVID-19 and effective strategies in alleviating burnout in the larger population of ATs.
","abstract_html":"<p>Burnout is a psychological condition consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment and identity. Since the start of the pandemic, a significant increase in burnout has been reported by healthcare professionals, however, there is little known regarding the experiences of athletic trainers (ATs). <strong>PURPOSE:</strong> The purpose of our study was to investigate the association between burnout and COVID-19 related factors among ATs. <strong>METHODS:</strong> An electronic survey grouped by the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Survey, COVID-19 related workplace policies, and demographics was sent to 1,000 ATs through the National Athletic Trainer’s Association email listserv; participants were also recruited via a social media link. Pearson correlations or Kendall’s tau non-parametric correlations were used to measure the strength of the association between burnout and COVID-19 job-related items. One-way ANOVA was used to determine any differences between burnout scores across demographic factors. <strong>RESULTS:</strong> 81 ATs (age: 34.72 ± 11.27 y; career experience: 11.7 ± 10.6 y) across the US completed the survey (6% response rate). Emotional exhaustion depersonalization (EEDP) burnout was identified among 33.3% of the respondents. Correlations were found between EEDP burnout and poor financial compensation for increased responsibilities (n= 81; r=.212, p=.042), work hour alterations (n=78; r=.217, p=.037) and workload changes (n=78; r=.158, p=.128). <strong>CONCLUSIONS:</strong> Our findings support the COVID-19 pandemic changed the AT profession in novel ways. Moving forward, researchers should aim for a better understanding on the long-term effects of COVID-19 and effective strategies in alleviating burnout in the larger population of ATs. <strong></strong></p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Garcia, Harrison C"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Health and Human Performance","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr Megan Nelson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-04-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-04-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:24:24Z","subjects":["burnout","athletic trainers","athletic training","COVID-19","pandemic","MBI-HSS","healthcare","Other Mental and Social Health"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/745","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr Megan Nelson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Garcia, Harrison C"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-04-07T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Health and Human Performance"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["burnout","athletic trainers","athletic training","COVID-19","pandemic","MBI-HSS","healthcare","Other Mental and Social Health"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/745"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Burnout is a psychological condition consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment and identity. Since the start of the pandemic, a significant increase in burnout has been reported by healthcare professionals, however, there is little known regarding the experiences of athletic trainers (ATs). PURPOSE: The purpose of our study was to investigate the association between burnout and COVID-19 related factors among ATs. METHODS: An electronic survey grouped by the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Survey, COVID-19 related workplace policies, and demographics was sent to 1,000 ATs through the National Athletic Trainer’s Association email listserv; participants were also recruited via a social media link. Pearson correlations or Kendall’s tau non-parametric correlations were used to measure the strength of the association between burnout and COVID-19 job-related items. One-way ANOVA was used to determine any differences between burnout scores across demographic factors. RESULTS: 81 ATs (age: 34.72 ± 11.27 y; career experience: 11.7 ± 10.6 y) across the US completed the survey (6% response rate). Emotional exhaustion depersonalization (EEDP) burnout was identified among 33.3% of the respondents. Correlations were found between EEDP burnout and poor financial compensation for increased responsibilities (n= 81; r=.212, p=.042), work hour alterations (n=78; r=.217, p=.037) and workload changes (n=78; r=.158, p=.128). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the COVID-19 pandemic changed the AT profession in novel ways. Moving forward, researchers should aim for a better understanding on the long-term effects of COVID-19 and effective strategies in alleviating burnout in the larger population of ATs.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Effect of COVID-Protocols on Athletic Training Burnout"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr Megan Nelson"],"dc:creator":["Garcia, Harrison C"],"dc:date.available":["2023-04-07T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Burnout is a psychological condition consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment and identity. Since the start of the pandemic, a significant increase in burnout has been reported by healthcare professionals, however, there is little known regarding the experiences of athletic trainers (ATs). PURPOSE: The purpose of our study was to investigate the association between burnout and COVID-19 related factors among ATs. METHODS: An electronic survey grouped by the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Survey, COVID-19 related workplace policies, and demographics was sent to 1,000 ATs through the National Athletic Trainer’s Association email listserv; participants were also recruited via a social media link. Pearson correlations or Kendall’s tau non-parametric correlations were used to measure the strength of the association between burnout and COVID-19 job-related items. One-way ANOVA was used to determine any differences between burnout scores across demographic factors. RESULTS: 81 ATs (age: 34.72 ± 11.27 y; career experience: 11.7 ± 10.6 y) across the US completed the survey (6% response rate). Emotional exhaustion depersonalization (EEDP) burnout was identified among 33.3% of the respondents. Correlations were found between EEDP burnout and poor financial compensation for increased responsibilities (n= 81; r=.212, p=.042), work hour alterations (n=78; r=.217, p=.037) and workload changes (n=78; r=.158, p=.128). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the COVID-19 pandemic changed the AT profession in novel ways. Moving forward, researchers should aim for a better understanding on the long-term effects of COVID-19 and effective strategies in alleviating burnout in the larger population of ATs.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/745"],"dc:subject":["burnout","athletic trainers","athletic training","COVID-19","pandemic","MBI-HSS","healthcare","Other Mental and Social Health"],"dc:title":["Effect of COVID-Protocols on Athletic Training Burnout"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Health and Human Performance"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:24:24Z"}