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Original research
Characteristics and predictors of burnout among healthcare professionals: a cross-sectional study in two tertiary hospitals
  1. Ayman El-Menyar1,2,
  2. Wanis H Ibrahim3,
  3. Walid El Ansari4,5,6,
  4. Mohamed Gomaa7,
  5. Brijesh Sathian1,
  6. Ali Ait Hssain8,
  7. Bianca Wahlen9,
  8. Syed Nabir10,
  9. Hassan Al-Thani11
  1. 1 Trauma Surgery , Clinical Research, Hamad General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
  2. 2 Clinical Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical School, Doha, Qatar
  3. 3 Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
  4. 4 Department of Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
  5. 5 Qatar & College of Medicine, Qatar university, Doha, Qatar
  6. 6 Qatar & School of Health and Education, University of Skovde, Skovde, Sweden
  7. 7 Cardiology, Heart Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
  8. 8 Internal Medicine, Intensive care unit, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
  9. 9 Anaesthesiology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
  10. 10 Radiology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
  11. 11 Trauma Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
  1. Correspondence to Ayman El-Menyar, Department of Surgery, Trauma &Vascular Surgery, Clinical Research, Hamad General Hospital & Weill Cornell Medical School, Doha 3050, Qatar; aymanco65{at}yahoo.com

Abstract

Background The pattern and impact of burnout among the medical staff are not yet well defined. However, the consequences of burnout are not limited to the healthcare providers but also may affect their family, colleagues and patients in a negative manner. We aimed to assess the characteristics and predictors of burnout among health professionals at two large tertiary hospitals.

Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study during the period from July 2018 to 31 December 2018. Data, via Maslach Burnout Inventory survey, were collected from physicians and other healthcare workers in two hospitals.

Results A total of 624 responses to questionnaires were analysed. Half of the respondents were physicians, and men constituted the majority. About 10% (95% CI, 7.8 to 12.5) of the respondents satisfied the criteria of burnout. Emotional exhaustion (EE) was observed in 45.7%, depersonalisation (DP) in 26.9% and personal accomplishment (PA) in 41.2% of the respondents. There was a positive correlation between EE and DP (r=0.627, p=0.001), and a weak negative correlation between DP and PA (r=−0.195, p=0.001). Young age, less experience, trauma surgery, lack of habits and getting depressed ≥1 time/week were predictors of burnout.

Conclusions Burnout affects one-tenth of the health professionals in the tertiary hospitals in Qatar. Physicians are more likely to have higher DP and lower PA, whereas nurses prone to have higher EE. In this study, no gender discrepancy is appreciated and the junior medical staff is at a higher risk of burnout.

  • Health services administration & management
  • health & safety
  • quality in health care
  • occupational & industrial medicine
  • public health
  • psychiatry
  • depression & mood disorders

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-137547

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors All authors have substantial contribution. AE-M, WHI, &WE-A contributed to design, data collection and interpretation, and manuscript writing and approval. MG, BS, AAH, BW, SN and HA-T contributed to design, data collection and manuscript writing and approval.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Verbal consent was taken from participants that was approved by Medical Research Center (MRC) Ethical Committee at Hamad Medical Corporation.

    • Ethics approval The study protocol was approved by Medical Research Center (MRC) Ethical Committee at Hamad Medical Corporation (MRC-01-18-133).

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data availability statement All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.