A Picture of Health? Exploring BIPOC University Student Experience of Burnout

Abstract

Burnout is a growing health problem in universities. Burnout may be defined by shifts in exhaustion, negativity, and efficacy due to excess stress in multiple contexts and levels of the population. Particularly, Black, Indigenous, and additional students of Colour (BIPOC) may experience more burnout compared to white students due to additional stressors tied to COVID- 19 and social justice movements, such as experiencing social isolation and making sense of movements tied to their personal race, status, and gender. Previous research has examined BIPOC student burnout but has not explored burnout within this socio-political context or using participatory methods. Photovoice has emerged as a creative way to examine health issues. Therefore, this photovoice study aims to explore how BIPOC university students experience burnout within this socio-political context in Halifax, NS. The project used photovoice’s nine- step participatory process to capture BIPOC student burnout perspectives, enabling community reflection, promoting critical dialogue, and prompting action through photography. Finalized themes included BIPOC Student Burnout: Inside and Out, Contextualizing BIPOC Student Burnout: The Impact of Environments and Institutions, and Picturing Perfectionism: The Pressure to be ‘Exceptional’ within Academia. The project addressed a unique gap in BIPOC student burnout literature, unearthing the complexities between burnout experiences, race, determinants, and inequities within this socio-political context. The findings may have also empowered students to create change regarding BIPOC student burnout prevention, which could strengthen community action towards reducing burnout experiences and inequities within universities over time.