A qualitative study among (para-)medical and non-medical professionals in Switzerland

Abstract

Background: There is still a gap of knowledge in the detection and treatment of occupational burnout because it is not recognized as a disease and there are no standard criteria for its detection. We conducted a qualitative study to: (1) identify the different types of professionals who intervene in occupational burnout detection, treatment, prevention or administrative management; (2) describe their respective roles, intervention levels and professional interactions; (3) describe the types of interventions and modalities available; and (4) conceptualize the main models of care currently in use in Switzerland. Methods: We conducted in-depth semi-structural interviews with Swiss (para-)medical and nonmedical professionals that deal with occupational burnout. Data were analyzed following the grounded theory principles. Results: A total of 42 professionals were interviewed from different professional fields (e.g., physicians, nurses, psychologists, human resources, professionals working in insurance, politics, or private consulting) and from all regions of Switzerland. Three main care models for occupational burnout (Support, Extractor, and Systemic) were proposed, based on the categorization of the most cited intervention modalities used by the interviewed professionals. Conclusions: Based on the preliminary findings of this study, the need for collaboration between medical and non-medical professionals appeared to be the most important requirement to ensure the treatment of and recovery from occupational burnout.