Prevalence of Burnout among General Practitioners: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background Burnout is a work-related syndrome documented to have negative consequences for general practitioners (GPs) and their patients. Our objective was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature to provide an estimate of how widespread this phenomenon is. Aim: To review the existing literature concerning studies published up to December, 2020, on the prevalence of burnout amongst GPs in general practice, to determine GP burnout estimates worldwide. Design and setting: Systematic literature search and meta-analysis. Method: Searches of CINAHL Plus, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Scopus were conducted to identify published peer-reviewed quantitative empirical studies in English up to December, 2020, that have used the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey to establish the prevalence of burnout in practising GPs (i.e., excluding GPs in training). A random-effects model was employed. Results: Wide-ranging prevalence estimates (6% to 32%) for 22,177 GPs across 29 countries were reported for 60 studies included in this review. Mean burnout estimates were as follows: 16.43 (EE); 6.74 (DEP); and 29.28 (PA). Subgroup and meta-analyses documented that country-specific factors may be important determinants of the variation in GP burnout estimates. Moderate overall burnout cut-offs were found to be determinants of the variation in moderate overall burnout estimates. Conclusion: Moderate to high GP burnout exist worldwide. However, substantial variations in how burnout is characterised and operationalised resulted in considerable heterogeneity in GP burnout prevalence estimates. This highlights the challenge of developing a uniform approach, and the importance of considering the GP’s work context, to better characterise burnout.