Burnout among Primary Care Providers and Staff: Evaluating the Association with Practice Adaptive Reserve and Individual Behaviors

Abstract

Background: Workplace burnout among healthcare professionals is a critical public health concern. Few studies have examined organizational and individual factors associated with burnout across healthcare professional groups. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between practice adaptive reserve (PAR) and individual behavioural response to change and burnout among healthcare professionals in primary care. Design: This cross-sectional study used survey data from 154 primary care practices participating in the EvidenceNOW Heart of Virginia Healthcare initiative. Participants: We analysed data from 1279 healthcare professionals in Virginia. Our sample included physicians, advanced practice clinicians, clinical support staff and administrative staff. Main Measures: We used the PAR instrument to measure organizational capacity for change and the Change Diagnostic Index© (CDI) to measure individual behavioural response, which achieved a 76% response rate. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the effects of PAR and CDI on burnout. Key Results: As organizational capacity for change increased, burnout in healthcare professionals decreased by 51% (OR: 0.49; 95% CI, 0.33, 0.73). As healthcare professionals showed improved response toward change, burnout decreased by 84% (OR: 0.16; 95% CI, 0.11, 0.23). Analysis by healthcare professional type revealed a significant association between high organizational capacity for change, positive response to change and low burnout among administrative staff (OR: 2.92; 95% CI, 1.37, 6.24). Increased hours of work per week was associated with higher odds of burnout (OR: 1.07; 95% CI, 1.05, 1.10) across healthcare professional groups. Conclusion: As transformation efforts in primary care continue, it is critical to understand the influence of these initiatives on healthcare professionals’ well-being. Efforts to reduce burnout among healthcare professionals are needed at both a system and organizational level. Building organizational capacity for change, supporting providers and staff during major change and consideration of individual workload may reduce levels of burnout.