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The Prevalence of Physicians’ Burnout Syndrome in Ibrahim Malik Teaching Hospital, Khartoum – Sudan in 2020

Volume: 132  ,  Issue: 1 , September    Published Date: 13 September 2023
Publisher Name: IJRP
Views: 132  ,  Download: 126 , Pages: 152 - 170    
DOI: 10.47119/IJRP1001321920235472

Authors

# Author Name
1 Huweida Arif Ali
2 Amna Omer Ali
3 Abrar Mohammed Ali
4 Safinat Ali Alsadig
5 Zainab Isam Eldeen Ahmed
6 Sherein Osman
7 Moneer A. Abdalla
8 Hassan I. Osman

Abstract

Introduction: Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions: 1) Feelings of exhaustion, 2) Increased mental distance from ones job, or feelings of negativism related to ones job and 3) Reduced professional efficacy. Emotional exhaustion includes feeling “used up” at the end of a workday. Depersonalization includes feelings of treating patients as objects and becoming more uncaring towards patients. A sense of reduced personal accomplishment encompasses feelings of ineffectiveness in helping patients and a lack of value of the results of professional activities such as patient care or professional achievements. Burnout is distinct from other related constructs such as job dissatisfaction, fatigue, occupational stress and depression. Although burnout correlates with these problems, it may be present in their absence or absent in their presence. Results: The total number of doctors enrolled in the study was 100 Physicians working in Ibrahim Malik Teaching Hospital as of October 2020. Most of the participants were female doctors, reaching up to 72% in comparison to 28% male doctors.   Most of the participants belonged to the ER department, whereas the least belonged to the orthopedic department. The majority of participants were house officers (42%) and the least were specialists (4%)   Overall, all female doctors were found to have a variable risk of burnout, which ranged from moderate to severe. The highest degree of burnout that female doctors suffered from was within the “Serious” parameter (50.1%-75%), and the lowest belongs to the “severe” parameter (75%-100%).   Unlike their counterparts, not all male doctors suffered from burnout, 4% having recorded exhibiting none-mild burnout symptoms. In male doctors burnout, the majority belonged to the “serious (50.1%-75%)” parameter and the lowest belonged to the “non-mild (0%-25%)” and “severe (75.1%- 100%)” parameters, which were 67%, 4% and 4% respectively. In males and females physician burnout, males recorded 4% (lowest) in the “non-mild”  while females recorded a 0%. Female doctors scored a higher “serious burnout” (68%) than male doctors (67%).Both male and female doctors had similar record of the lowest percentage being the “severe” parameter (4%).   Among professional levels, the highest percentage was seen in GP (60%) and the lowest was seen in consultant (45.20%).     In specialties, the highest percentage belongs to doctors working in the ER department (81%) and lowest belongs to the Surgery department (52%).   In general, most physicians were within the “serious” parameter (68%) and the lowest belongs to “none-mild” parameter (1%).   Personal accomplishment was most affected in general practitioners (38.12%) and least affected in consultants (35.28%). Emotional exhaustion was most prevalent in specialists (39%) and less affected in house officers (35.69%). Depersonalization was the highest in consultants (27.70%) and lowest in specialists (24.30%).   Male doctors were the most affected in their feeling of low personal accomplishment (49%) and emotional exhaustion (42%), in opposition to female doctors, who recorded (38%) and (36%) respectively. However, female doctors had a higher percentage of depersonalization (26%) than male doctors (9%)   . Emotional exhaustion was the highest in ICU (37.83%) and the lowest in orthopedic doctors (32.89%). Personal accomplishment was the highest in orthopedics (40.79%) and the lowest in OB/GYN doctors (36.38%). Depersonalization was the highest in OB/GYN (27.12%) and the lowest in ICU doctors (25.7%). Conclusion: In conclusion, our study showed that burn out is highly prevalent among Ibrahim Malik hospital doctors (68 %), while female doctors had a higher degree burnout than males. Among the different professional levels, the highest percentage of burnout belonged to GPs and the lowest belonged to consultants .ER doctors suffered the most from burnout, whereas surgeons suffered the least. Several factors attributing to the burnout symptoms of these doctors have been identified. The first factor being personal accomplishment, which was the most affected factor in general practitioners and the least affected in consultants. Emotional exhaustion was the highest in specialist and the least in house-officers. Depersonalization was the highest in consultants and the least in specialists. In terms of the risk factors accrediting to burnout in terms of gender, our results concluded that males got a higher percentage of low personal accomplishment and emotional exhaustion than females. Meanwhile, females scored a higher percentage of depersonalization than males. In regards to the risk factors affecting the different specialties, results have shown that emotional exhaustion was the most affected in ICU doctors and least affected in orthopedic doctors. Low personal accomplishment was the highest in orthopedics and the lowest in OB/GYN. Depersonalization, was the highest in OB/GYN and the lowest in ICU. Finally, the prevalence of symptoms of Burnout Syndrome among doctors employed at Ibrahim Malik Teaching Hospital in October 2020 was found to be very high, constituting a pressing challenge that needs to be met by organizations, individuals and society at large. Recommendations: Further, large-scaled researches particular high equality studies are needed to broaden the understanding of the burnout syndrome. Target intervention at work place should be considered as one of the strategies to reduce negative impact of burn out. Interventions ranging from work health and mental health education to policy changes should be considered, as the knowledge of the existence of burnout syndrome was noticed to be low among physicians while distributing the paper questionnaire. Physicians and other healthcare providers should cooperate with and seek the identification of the risk and degree of burnout among themselves. Allotting a large time period to data collection.