Intervention For Burnout Among Chemistry Education Undergraduates in Nigeria
Intervention For Burnout Among Chemistry Education Undergraduates in Nigeria
Intervention For Burnout Among Chemistry Education Undergraduates in Nigeria
Income Nations
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine how effectively rational emotive behavior
therapy (REBT) could help university undergraduate students in chemistry to manage academ-
ic burnout.
Methods: We surveyed 468 undergraduates in the chemistry education program for eligibility
and included the first 30 students who showed symptoms of high burnout. We randomly assigned
15 students each to the experimental and control groups. The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory for
college students was used to assess students’ burnout at two different periods. The intervention
was delivered using a manual for managing burnout.
Results: Pre-test results indicated no significant difference in the burnout scores of the control
group (mean ¼ 51.43, standard deviation (SD) ¼ 2.74) and experimental group (mean ¼ 52.31,
SD ¼ 3.59), t(28) ¼ 0.749. At post-test, the main effect of time on students’ burnout was signif-
icant: F(2.27) ¼ 41.91, g2p ¼ 0.599. The main effect of group on undergraduates’ burnout was also
significant: F(1.28) ¼ 1043.67, g2p ¼ 0.974. There was a significant time group interaction effect
on burnout among participants: F(2.27) ¼ 41.43, g2p ¼ 0.597.
Corresponding author:
1
Department of Science Education, University of Nigeria Ijeoma Hope N. Nwoji, Harden Building, Department of
Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Science Education, University of Nigeria Nsukka, P.M.B.
2
Department of Educational Foundations, University of 410001, Enugu State, Nigeria.
Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria Email: [email protected]
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2 Journal of International Medical Research
Conclusion: Our study findings showed that chemistry students could be helped to manage
burnout symptoms, based on REBT theory. REBT methodology should be promoted among
university undergraduates with symptoms of academic burnout.
Keywords
Burnout, chemistry students, chemistry education, Nigeria, rational emotive behavior therapy,
intervention
Date received: 11 June 2019; accepted: 15 July 2019
participate. To determine eligibility for pos- We used an REBT student burnout treat-
sible inclusion in this study, we surveyed a ment manual for undergraduates in the
total of 468 undergraduate students of experimental group to treat burnout symp-
chemistry, from the first to the final year toms. The intervention lasted for 10 weeks.
of study. Of these, 245 (54.3%) students This manual was adapted from REBT man-
met the eligibility criteria for a high level uals used in previous evidence-based studies
of burnout, i.e., a total score of 49 and on burnout and stress.10,14 We adopted a
above on the Oldenburg Burnout treatment-as-usual approach for students
Inventory for students (OLBI-S) at pre- in the control group. Control students
test. Other inclusion criteria considered received normal counseling services and
included undergraduate student in chemis- programs developed in Nigerian universi-
try education, not be involved in any other ties. Three facilitators implemented the
burnout intervention program during the REBT intervention. We checked our data
study period, not currently or previously for violation of test assumptions, and the
diagnosed with mental illness, and willing study data met all test assumptions. No
to commit to completing the program data were missing after screening.
once begun. Financial constraints made it
impossible for us to include all eligible stu- Statistical analysis
dents for a large-scale intervention. The
minimum sample size required for an effec- Demographic data were analyzed using fre-
tive study was determined using G*power quency and percentage. Pre-test scores of
3.1 software,11 with statistical power the two groups were compared using a
a ¼ 0.81. Random allocation software12 t-test. A two-way repeated measures analy-
was used to generate the allocation sis of variance (ANOVA) was then per-
sequence with which participants were allo- formed to determine the main effects of
cated randomly to each group. The alloca- treatment and time and the time by group
tion sequence was enclosed in sealed, interaction effect. We used partial eta-
opaque envelopes so as to blind those squared (g2p) as the effect size measure.
assigning participants to the groups. IBM SPSS version 20 was used to perform
The OLBI-S consists of 16 items designed all statistical analyses and data screening
to measure academic burnout in two dimen- (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).
sions: exhaustion (owing to the demands of
studying) and disengagement (an attitude of Results
detachment from academic studies), with
eight questions each. The total score of the We chose the first 30 chemistry undergrad-
two subscales represents the student’s level uate students who met all the inclusion cri-
of burnout. Each subscale of the OLBI-S has teria for the study. Of the 30 selected
been validated in previous studies and found students, we assigned 15 students each to
to be very reliable.13 For the present study, the experimental and control groups.
the reliability of the subscales (Cronbach’s According to participants’ demographic
alpha) was 0.831 for exhaustion and 0.869 data, more than half of participants were
for disengagement. female students (63%). Most participants
We collected participants’ demographic were second- and third-year students (36%
information using a questionnaire designed and 30%, respectively). Only five students
by the researchers; these data included level were from private universities; the remain-
of study, place of residence, study hours, der attended public federal universities.
age, sex, type of institution, and sponsor. A total 14 (46.67%) participating students
4 Journal of International Medical Research
population of university students, as well as for coping with burnout should form a part
the factors linked to these symptoms. of the educational program in undergradu-
Another implication of this study is that ate chemistry education, to equip students
the design and implementation of interven- with the necessary skills to cope with burn-
tions to address burnout among chemistry out and other associated mental health
undergraduates, like the present REBT challenges. It is hoped that this study out-
intervention, may result in more students come will influence the adoption of REBT
being able to learn how to manage academ- interventions for managing burnout among
ic burnout while at school. School health medical and nursing students, physicians,
policies should be aligned to accommodate and other health workers.
REBT burnout intervention for undergrad-
uate students, given the clinical utility of Declaration of conflicting interest
this therapy as demonstrated in this study.
The authors declare that there is no conflict
The current study has some limitations.
of interest.
The sample size in this study is arguably
small, which could limit the extent to
Funding
which the findings can be generalized.
However, future researchers can consider This research received no specific grant from any
the present study as foundational for con- funding agency in the public, commercial, or
ducting further studies with greater scope not-for-profit sectors.
and better generalizability. In future,
researchers should track the attendance of ORCID iD
participants, the mean number of class Ijeoma Hope N. Nwoji https://orcid.org/
sessions attended or missed, as well as the 0000-0001-6102-600X
percentage of participants who attend all
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