Background: Given the demands of their profession, burnout among healthcare workers is growing, particularly among long-term care staff, along with physical and emotional repercussions. Research is limited on how rehabilitation therapists (occupational, physical, and speech) perceive and experience burnout in long-term care settings. An in-depth understanding of healthcare professionals' experiences with burnout within long-term care settings is necessary to understand and address burnout. Objective: This study investigated the perceptions and experiences of rehabilitation therapists while working in long-term care settings and the potential for burnout. Method: The researcher utilized a basic interpretive qualitative approach to guide semi-structured, individual interviews with rehabilitation therapists. Interviews were audio recorded, then transcribed verbatim. Along with a second researcher, the data was analyzed through a structured coding process, followed by development of overarching themes. Results: Six themes emerged from the data: causes of stress and burnout, individual ways of managing stress and burnout, systemic changes for managing stress and burnout, COVID-19 and mental health, the definition of burnout, and change over time in work experience. Discussion: Rehabilitation therapists can feel empowered to advocate for themselves to their employers when discussing issues, and employers will see the importance of changing policies to help reduce the prevalence of burnout in therapists and promote systemic changes from within the companies. One universal policy all participants acknowledged was that productivity expectations were unrealistic. Future research, advocacy, and policy should address systemic and organizational factors related to burnout to relieve the related consequences and promote a thriving therapy workforce.
Keywords: rehabilitation therapists, burnout, long-term care, memory deficits