The Prevalence And Determinants Of Burnout In Medical Doctors At Public Hospitals In Gqeberha During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Khan, Saajida

The Prevalence And Determinants Of Burnout In Medical Doctors At Public Hospitals In Gqeberha During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Thesis / Dissertation

2023

Abstract

Introduction: Burnout has been defined as “a syndrome that results from chronic workplace stress” which has been unsuccessfully managed and has previously been documented in doctors. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the occupational challenges faced by doctors in hospitals, potentially increasing their risk for burnout. Aim: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and determinants of burnout amongst medical doctors at public hospitals in Gqeberha (South Africa) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 260 doctors employed at three public hospitals in Gqeberha. Participants voluntarily completed self-administered electronic questionnaires: Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, selected subscales of the NIOSH Generic Job Stress Questionnaire, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 10 to assess burnout, job stress and resilience as well as questions related to challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The burnout prevalence amongst the study participants was 78%. Most of the participants were female (58%) and young, with 43% in the 20-29 age-group. Medical Interns formed the dominant occupational group (32%) with an average of 2 years of service (IQR = 1-5) and 96% were in full-time employment. Burnout was significantly associated with being a medical intern or community service medical officer (OR=6.72, 1.71-26.40), being in the lowest income band (OR= 10.78, 2.55-45.49) as well as in those using alcohol to manage workrelated stress (OR=3.01, 1.12-8.04). Burnout was furthermore significantly associated with experiencing high conflict at work (OR=5.04, 1.92-13.20) and high role ambiguity (OR=4.49,1.98-10.18). Participants with low job satisfaction (OR=27.82, 6.27-123.45), low support at work (OR=9.99, 3.66-27.23), medium job satisfaction (OR= 5.38, 2.65- 10.93) and medium support at work (OR=3.39, 1.71-6.73) were also at increased risk of burnout. Medium (OR=0.28, 0.10-0.80) and high resilience (OR=0.08, 0.03-0.25) vi were found to be significantly protective against burnout. Factors related to COVID-19 infection and workplace interventions were not significantly associated with burnout. Conclusion: The prevalence of burnout amongst medical doctors in Gqeberha during the COVID-19 pandemic was high. Factors associated with burnout include conflict at work, role ambiguity and role conflict, job satisfaction, support at work and resilience. Given the strong associations with job stress factors and burnout, the management of burnout and mitigation should focus on interventional measures that are implemented at an organisational level.

Keywords

Public Health and Family Medicine

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