The main aim of this review is to evaluate the burnout levels experienced by radiation therapists. PubMed, Lilacs and Google Scholar were searched for articles reporting burnout levels in radiation therapists. Only studies explicitly assessing burnout and using a validated instrument were retrieved. Meta‐analyses were undertaken, based on articles that used the Maslach Burnout Inventory to assess burnout, to determine 95% confidence intervals for the overall prevalence of radiation therapists with high burnout risk in three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation or low personal accomplishment. Additionally, meta‐analyses were also performed to determine the overall mean reported for each of the three dimensions. A total of eleven studies were found to be eligible for inclusion in this systematic review, nine of which used the Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire. The 95% confidence intervals for radiation therapists with high emotional exhaustion scores, high depersonalisation scores and low personal accomplishment scores were [24.8; 54.6], [10.1; 40.2] and [17.4; 41.6] respectively. The 95% confidence intervals for the corresponding means were found to be [20.0; 26.2], [5.1; 8.8] and [35.9, 39.6] respectively. The meta‐analysis revealed an arguably high prevalence of burnout in radiation therapists in spite of it varying substantially between studies.

Background: Burnout syndrome has adverse consequences for individuals, causing a variety of cognitive, affective, physical, behavioural and motivational problems. We aim to assess burnout in Portuguese radiation therapists, for who high levels of contact with patients may potentially lead to burnout. Methods: Radiation therapists working in Portugal were invited via e-mail to participate in the study by filling in a survey. The latter had two components: a social-demographic questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey. Results: A total of 103 people responded to the survey, 95 of which employed as radiation therapists. The mean burnout scores were 20.60 +- 11.21, 7.43 +- 5.34 and 35.02 +- 6.02, for the emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment subscales, respectively. In the same order, the total of radiation therapists presenting high levels of burnout were 29%, 14.9% and 29.3% for the different dimensions. The mean scores of burnout did not differ significantly regarding gender, civil status, working in the public or private sector and years of service. Radiation therapists aged 40 years or older presented greater scores of burnout, though with no statistical significance. Conclusion: Radiation therapists working in Portugal were seen to have average scores of burnout in the emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment subscales.

IntroductionIn palliative care, depression and pain are prevalent variables with a reciprocal and controversial relationship. Depression is common in people with chronical diseases. In the last decades, self-compassion has been pointed as a protective psychological process to negative affect.ObjectivesThe current study aimed to test the role of self-compassion in the relationship between pain and depression in palliative patients.MethodsSample was composed of 33 patients in palliative care, with a mean of 74.12 years of age (SD = 12.76). Participants completed self-report questionnaires and data was analyzed using SPSS.ResultsFrom the descriptive analysis of the results of the Geriatric Depression Scale, 22 patients were depressed (66.6%), 9 of them in severe depression (27.7%). Self-compassion presented a negative and moderate correlation with depression. Depression was positively correlated with pain. A hierarchical regression to predict depression was conducted. Firstly, pain was entered as a predictive variable with a significant effect. Secondly, self-compassion was entered, and the model was significantly incremented, explaining 41% of depression. Only self-compassion was significant in this model.ConclusionsDiscussion and conclusion: The association between pain and depression in palliative care corroborate previous research. Results seemed to show that self-compassion has a significant effect in the relationship between pain and depression. Cultivating a compassion self-to-self relationship might have an important effect attenuating the link between pain and depression in palliative care.