Psychological stress, loneliness, and psychological inflexibility are associated with poorer mental health and professional performance in university teachers. However, the relationship between these variables is understudied. The aim of the present study is to analyze the mediating role of psychological (in)flexibility on the effect of loneliness on psychological stress. A total of 902 professors from 11 universities in Ecuador were analyzed using standardized scales: the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) to assess psychological stress, the Loneliness Scale Revised-Short (UCLA-3) for loneliness, and the Avoidance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-7) and Life Engagement Test as double measures of psychological (in)flexibility. Mediation was tested by using PROCESS macro for SPSS. The results indicated that psychological flexibility mediated the relationship between loneliness and stress in university professors, regardless of sex and the measure of psychological (in)flexibility considered. The practical implications of the results are discussed herein.

Informal caregivers are the main providers of care for the elderly. The aim of this study is to examine the predictive value of different variables regarding caregivers and their elderly patients with respect to the caregiver’s burden. A convenience sample of 688 informal caregivers and 688 elderly people from Ecuador was surveyed. Only households with one caregiver and one elderly person were considered for the study. For informal caregivers, the following standardized measures were obtained: burden (Zarit Burden Interview), neuroticism (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised-Abbreviated, EPQR-A), caregiver’s general health (GHQ-12), and social support (modified Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire, FSSQ11). For the elderly, we employed standardized measures of cognitive function (short portable mental status questionnaire, SPMSQ), Pfeiffer’s test, and functional dependency (Barthel scale/Index, BI). Females were over-represented in caregiving and reported significantly higher burden levels than those of males. In both male and female caregivers, the burden was best predicted by the time of caring, neuroticism, and elderly cognitive impairment. However, some predictors of burden were weighted differently in males and females. The functional independence of the elderly was a significant predictor of burden for male caregivers but not females, while caregiver competence was a significant predictor for females but not males. These variables accounted for more than 88% of the variability in informal caregivers.

Uno de los grupos con mayor riesgo de desarrollar síndrome de burnout es el constituido por los trabajadores de la salud. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la prevalencia del síndrome de burnout y sus dimensiones, así como los factores relacionados, en enfermeras y médicos de instituciones médicas de salud en una provincia de Ecuador. Se seleccionó una muestra de 166 profesionales de la salud (69,49% mujeres, edad media = 38,0 años). Se utilizaron diversos instrumentos para recopilar información sobre el síndrome de burnout y variables sociodemográficas y laborales. Se encontró una prevalencia del 4,2% para el síndrome de burnout. En cuanto a las dimensiones de burnout, se encontró una prevalencia del 26,5% para el agotamiento emocional 25,9% para la despersonalización y 42,2% para la baja realización personal. Los profesionales con mayor burnout eran aquellos con experiencia superior a 12 años como personal médico, que realizaban jornadas laborales superiores a las 8 horas diarias, y que atendían a más de 18 pacientes al día. Los resultados de esta investigación permitirán desarrollar una mejora en las normativas sanitarias con la finalidad de velar por la salud ocupacional de estos profesionales.

Background: Physician burnout is a growing issue that affects both the quality of healthcare and the mental well-being of medical professionals. However, research on this phenomenon in Ecuador is limited and methodologically deficient. The objective of this study was to examine the national prevalence of burnout among Ecuadorian physicians, its associated factors, and its impact on mental health. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1976 physicians from all provincial capitals of Ecuador (51.8% women; mean age: 37.1 years). Results: It was found that 25.3% of physicians had high levels of emotional exhaustion and 23.8% had high levels of depersonalization. Factors associated with the higher levels of emotional exhaustion among physicians included part-time jobs, long working hours, work–family conflicts, psychological inflexibility, and perceived loneliness. Higher levels of depersonalization were associated with working shifts, having work–family conflicts, exhibiting psychological inflexibility, and perceived loneliness, while lower levels of depersonalization were associated with being female. Experiencing higher levels of depersonalization were associated with suffering from higher levels of depression, while having higher levels of emotional exhaustion were associated with suffering from higher levels of stress. Conclusions: A considerable proportion of Ecuadorian physicians suffer from burnout. Preventive programs and psychological interventions tailored to their specific needs should be developed.

Nowadays, employees in the higher education sector are faced with an increasingly demanding environment, which can lead to high levels of stress and emotional exhaustion. In this context, the Demand-Resource Model can explain the different variables that influence the emotional exhaustion of professors. However, although the model has been tested on different samples of workers, there is a lack of literature on other variables that may mediate this relationship. In this sense, this research aims to investigate the mediating effect of psychological capital, a positive psychological construct, on the relationship between job demands and resources and its impact on emotional exhaustion. To this end, we conducted a survey of 205 professors from different Ecuadorian universities. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was applied to the data collected. The results showed that high work resources had a direct impact on emotional exhaustion, as suggested by the model, and that this relationship was mediated by psychological capital. Similarly, high job demands (high work rhythms and emotional demands) were another source of emotional exhaustion, although in this case the relationship was not significantly mediated by psychological capital. The study shows that high job demands significantly increase emotional exhaustion, whereas an adequately resourced work environment, such as fair leadership and supervisor support, promotes psychological safety and reduces emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, psychological capital positively modulates the influence of resources on emotional exhaustion but shows no significant mediation with job demands.