Prevalence of burnout syndrome in intensivist doctors in five Brazilian capitals

Abstract

ObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence of burnout in intensivist doctors working in adult, pediatric and neonatal intensive care units in five Brazilian capitals.MethodsDescriptive epidemiological study with a random sample stratified by conglomerate with 180 intensivist doctors from five capitals representing the Brazilian geographic regions: Porto Alegre (RS), Sao Paulo (SP), Salvador (BA), Goiania (GO) and Belem (PA). A self-administered questionnaire examining sociodemographic data and the level of burnout was evaluated through the Maslach Burnout Inventory.ResultsA total of 180 doctors were evaluated, of which 54.4% were female. The average age was 39 ± 8.1 years, 63.4% had specialization as the highest degree, 55.7% had up to 10 years of work experience in an intensive care unit, and 46.1% had the title intensive care specialist. Most (50.3%) had weekly workloads between 49 and 72 hours, and the most frequent employee type was salaried. High levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and inefficacy were found (50.6%, 26.1% and 15.0%, respectively). The prevalence of burnout was 61.7% when considering a high level in at least one dimension and 5% with a high level in three dimensions simultaneously.ConclusionA high prevalence of burnout syndrome among intensivist doctors was observed. Strategies for the promotion and protection of health in these workers must be discussed and implemented in hospitals.

Burnout syndrome: are stroke neurologists at a higher risk?

“…Our findings did not corroborate the hypothesis that the stress related to the context of emergency stroke care would be a significant factor for burnout syndrome in neurologists. This finding contrasts with several studies that reported that emergency care in other specialties led to greater burnout syndrome 1,3,20 . We hypothesize that standardized guidelines, restricted to a single neurological emergency (namely stroke), reduces the variability of stress factors to which stroke neurologists are exposed in a highly-controlled setting.…”

“…However, when we analyzed all domains separately in the different age groups, we found a significantly higher incidence of emotional exhaustion in the younger group (p < 0.05), as shown in Figure 1. This finding is similar to those of other studies that considered that an emergency environment leads to specifically higher levels of emotional exhaustion 1,20,29 .…”

“…exhaustion), feelings of cynicism and detachment from patients (depersonalization) and a feeling of career dissatisfaction, with a decrease in self-esteem and reduction of professional accomplishments (professional accomplishment) 1 . Findings from recent studies suggest that burnout syndrome can impair professionalism and influence the quality of care, increasing the risk of medical errors, and even resulting in career withdrawal 4 .…”

Burnout entre médicos intensivistas ou Sociedade do burnout

“…Burnout was more frequent in intensive care physicians (71% versus 29%) (Garcia et al, 2014). Recently, Tironi et al (2016) published an epidemiological study on 180 intensive care physicians in five Brazilian cities representing the several geographical regions of the country: Porto Alegre/RS, São Paulo/SP, Salvador/BA, Goiania/ GO, and Belém/PA. A self-applicable questionnaire analyzing demographic data was used as well as the MBI for measuring burnout levels.…”

“…A self-applicable questionnaire analyzing demographic data was used as well as the MBI for measuring burnout levels. The prevalence was 61.7%, considering a high score in at least one dimension, and 5% considering the need for high scores simultaneously in three dimensions (Tironi et al, 2016).…”