Burnout levels among Portuguese family doctors: A nationwide survey

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Abstract

Aim: To characterise the prevalence of burnout syndrome in a sample of family doctors (FDs) working in the Portuguese National Health System. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Primary healthcare centres from the 18 continental districts and two archipelagos of Portugal. Method: The Portuguese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey was sent to 40 randomly selected healthcare centres and distributed to the FDs employed. Socio-demographic and work-related data were also collected. Participants were classified as having high, average or low levels of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalisation (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA) dimensions of burnout. Results: 371 questionnaires were sent, of which 153 (83 women, age range 29-64 years; response rate 41%) returned. One-quarter (25.3%, 95% CI 18.6% to 33.1%) of FDs scored high for EE, 16.2% (10.7% to 23.2%) for DP and 16.7% (11.1% to 23.6%) for lack of PA. On multivariate analysis, being married, of older age, having many years of practice or working in a personalised healthcare unit tended to be associated with increased burnout components. Men tended to present higher EE and DP but lower lack of PA than women. Finally, the prevalence (95% CI) of burnout ranged between 4.1% (1.5% to 8.6%) and 32.4% (25.0% to 40.6%), depending on the definition used. Conclusions: High burnout is relatively common among Portuguese FDs. Burnout relief measures should be developed in order to prevent a further increase of burnout syndrome among Portuguese FDs.

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Marcelino, G. T., Cerveira, J. M., Carvalho, I., Costa, J. A., Lopes, M., Calado, N. E., & Marques-Vidal, P. (2012). Burnout levels among Portuguese family doctors: A nationwide survey. BMJ Open, 2(3). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2012-001050

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