The High Cost of Healing and Teaching: A Cross-sectional Survey of Burnout Among Academic Physicians in Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract Background: Globally, the medical and teaching professions are two major professions with the highest prevalence of burnout, and academic physicians bestride the two professions. This study investigated the prevalence and associated factors of burnout among academic physicians working in tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. Methodology: This was a self-administered online survey. Burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory and sent to 256 academic physicians in tertiary hospitals across Nigeria using the WhatsApp broadcast feature. Findings: A total of 150 Academic Physicians responded, of which there were 121 (80.7%) males and 29 (19.3%) females. The prevalence of burnout in our study was 57.7%. Moderate emotional exhaustion was reported by 12.3% (18 respondents), high emotional exhaustion by 18.5% (27 respondents), moderate depersonalization by 4.8% (7 respondents), high depersonalization by 0.7% (1 respondent), moderate personal accomplishment by 10.4% (16 respondents), and high personal accomplishment by 33.1% (51 respondents). Eight variables: religion, geopolitical zone of practice, enjoyment of academic writing, apathy toward teaching, university ownership, number of published peer-reviewed articles, salary, and supplementary income were significantly associated with emotional exhaustion, while the number of weeks spent teaching in a year and teaching hours/week were significantly associated with depersonalization and personal accomplishment, respectively. Age (OR 1.302, CI 1.080-1.570), Teaching hours/week (OR 0.924, CI 0.854-0.999), Salary (OR 0.996, CI 0.993-1.0), and supplementary salary (OR 0.996, CI 0.993-0.999) were found to significantly predict emotional exhaustion. Conclusion: The high prevalence of burnout among academic physicians in Nigeria highlights the need for further research and implementation of preventive measures