How common is burnout? Are there protective factors? A study from a tertiary cancer center

Abstract

Background: Heathcare professionals (HCPs) in the field of oncology face challenging clinical situations, difficult conversations, and death. This can seriously affect their physical and psychological health. Methods: One hundred and eighty doctors and nurses participated in this descriptive study. The primary objective was to determine the proportion of burnout in HCPs in a tertiary care cancer hospital. The secondary objectives included assessment of psychological morbidity, correlation of burnout with demographic factors and years of experience, and resilience and its correlation with burnout. Data were collected using Maslach Burnout Inventory, General Health Questionnaire–28 (GHQ-28), and a Resilience scale (Dr. Vijaya Lakshmi and Dr. Shruti Narain). Descriptive statistics correlation and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: One hundred and twenty-six (70%) respondents were young adults. Thirty-two (17.78%) respondents had a high Emotional Exhaustion (EE) score. A high Depersonalization score (DP) was seen in 24 (13.33%) and a low sense of Personal Accomplishment (PA) was perceived by 22 (12.22%). More nurses (55, 52.4%) had high resilience scores compared with doctors (21, 28%). Doctors (21, 28%) experienced more psychological morbidity than nurses (15, 14%). Among the domains of GHQ-28, high scores were observed in Somatic, Anxiety/Insomnia, and Social Dysfunction (mean 4.44 ± 3.92, 4.61 ± 3.85, and 4.54 ± 3.16, respectively) and low scores in the severe depression domain (mean 2.48/±3.29). Conclusion: Fifteen to eighteen percent of HCPs scored high levels of EE, DP, and low PA. Burnout was more common in doctors who had worked in the cancer center for longer. However, the converse was true for nurses. HCPs with high resilience scores had less burnout. Age and resilience protect from burnout.