Burnout or Professional Exhaustion Syndrome Among Primary Care Tunisian Doctors

Abstract

The Burnout or the professional exhaustion syndrome is common among doctors, especially primary care practitioners. The rates range from 25 to 76% according to specialties.

Aims:

Main objective was to assess the prevalence of burnout in Tunisian primary care practitioners working in public sector in the region of the Cap Bon. Secondary objectives were to determine the risk factors and the consequences associated with this syndrome.

Methods:

transversal study using four scales: Anonymous auto questionnaire elaborated by the medical team, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), the Beck Depression inventory (BDI) and the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI). The MBI explores the three dimensions of Burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. In our study, the Burnout was defined by the presence of two or three pathological dimensions.

Results:

113 questionnaires were exploitable (85.6% of the sample). The results of the MBI showed that one third of doctors suffer from Burnout and 7.1% have severe attaints. 35% of the doctors had high score of emotional exhaustion, 21% had high depersonalization and 40% had a low score of personal accomplishment. The Burnout was significantly associated with depression (p < 0.001), suicidality (p=0.023) and anxious temperament (p< 0.001). On the other hand, a continued medical education protected significantly against the Burnout (p=0.003). Professional exhaustion was significantly related to the wish of reconversion (p=0.023) and to relational difficulties with patients and colleagues. The solutions proposed were the increase of the number of doctors and a better education of medical students in general medicine.