Prevalence of Burnout among Catholic Religious Men and Women Working In Rural Areas: A Case of Lodwar Diocese in Turkana County, Kenya

Ministry burnout is a global issue of concern among the Church ministers across the world. Studies have shown that the majority of Church ministers leave ministry prematurely due to burnout which in turn affects their commitment to the Church. The study objective was to examine the demographic differences of age, gender, level of education, country of origin and vocational identity with respect to prevalence of burnout of among Catholic religious men and women working in rural areas. The study adopted descriptive research design and phenomenological design. Using census and convenience sampling, a sample size of 131 participants were included which comprised the whole population of the study. Quantitative data was collected using standardized questionnaires and qualitative data was collected using Focus Group Discussion Guide. Pre-testing of standardized instruments was carried out before the actual data collection to ensure its reliability and validity. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics using SPSS Version 32 while qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Some of the study findings were: respondents’ level of burnout was above average, in terms of subscales, personal accomplishment had the highest (mean=30.61) followed by emotional exhaustion (mean=19.82) and level of depersonalization (mean=9.05).