Burnout syndrome in primary health care professionals: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Burnout syndrome (BS) is a work-associated chronic stress condition composed of three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduction of professional achievement. Professionals working in the Enlarged Family Health Support Centers (NASF-AB) and Primary Care are exposed to the vulnerabilities of the UHS, insecurity, and conflicts that can lead to professional exhaustion. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of BS in health professionals working in the NASF-AB of Teresina/PI, in 2019. METHOD: This is a quantitative, cross-sectional study conducted with 13 professionals working in NASF-AB. For data collection and investigation, three questionnaires were applied: the first referring to sociodemographic variables; the second was the reduced version of the Job Stress Scale (JSS); and finally, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaire. RESULTS: Most professionals were female (92.3%) and aged ≤ 35 years. In the application of the JSS, 7 professionals (53.8%) presented high demand and 6 (46.2%) low demand; 8 (61,5%) high control and 5 (38.5%) low control; 9 (69,2%) high social support and 4 (30.8%) low social support. In the MBI, 10 professionals (76.9%) presented a high level of emotional exhaustion. Despite this, 11 professionals (84.6%) were professionally accomplished, and all interviewees (100%) obtained low depersonalization. CONCLUSION: The study was not able to verify accurately the prevalence of BS in professionals. Nevertheless, these professionals present a high risk of developing BS because they presented high levels of Emotional Demand and Exhaustion in the JSS and MBI questionnaires, respectively.