Poor working conditions, HIV/AIDS and burnout a study in cameroon

Abstract

The aim of this study was (a) to use anthropological research tools to produce a thorough description of health providers’ working conditions in a low-income country; (b) sketch the impact of a specific dimension of the national HIV/AIDS programme on this environment and (c) sketch the existence and examine the extent of burnout among health workers. We conducted intensive fieldwork in a large public hospital in one major town of the far-north region. We relied on three research tools: observations, in-depth interviews and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The data were analysed manually. We found a working environment characterised by an acute lack of equipment, lack of recognition and equity, lack of community and fairness, and value conflict, all of which are factors implicated in burnout. This was exacerbated by the implementation of a psychosocial dimension in care for people with HIV/AIDS, which created exclusion and reinforced feelings of unfairness. However, despite their challenging working environment, health-care providers were not ‘burned out’, leading us to suggest that burnout is a syndrome of ‘rigid’ working environments, as opposed to ‘porous’ working environments.