Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2019

Open Access 01-12-2019 | Burnout Syndrome | Research article

Prevalence of burnout and associated factors among general practitioners in Hubei, China: a cross-sectional study

Authors: Yong Gan, Heng Jiang, Liqing Li, Yudi Yang, Chao Wang, Jianxin Liu, Tingting Yang, Sampson Opoku, Sai Hu, Hongbin Xu, Chulani Herath, Yuanyuan Chang, Pengqian Fang, Zuxun Lu

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2019

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

High occupational burnout among general practitioners (GPs) is an important challenge to China’s efforts to strengthen its primary healthcare delivery; however, data to help understand this issue are unavailable. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of burnout and associated factors among GPs.

Methods

A cross-sectional design was used to collect data from December 12, 2014, to March 10, 2015, with a self-administered structured questionnaire from 1015 GPs (response rate, 85.6%) in Hubei Province, Central China. Burnout was measured using a 22-item Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). MBI-HSS scores and frequency were analyzed by the three dimensions of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and personal accomplishment (PA). Factors associated with burnout among GPs were estimated using a multiple linear regression model.

Results

Of the respondents, 2.46% had a high level of burnout in all three dimensions, 24.83% reported high levels of EE, 6.21% scored high on DP, and 33.99% were at high risk of PA. GPs who were unmarried, had lower levels of job satisfaction, and had been exposed to workplace violence experienced higher levels of burnout. Intriguingly, no statistically significant associations were found between burnout and the duration of GP practice, age, sex, income, practice setting, and professional level.

Conclusion

This is the first study of occupational burnout in Chinese general practice. Burnout is prevalent among GPs in Hubei, China. Interventions aimed at increasing job satisfaction, improving doctor-patient relationships and providing safer workplace environments may be promising strategies to reduce burnout among GPs in Hubei, China.
Literature
1.
Jin MU, Jeong SH, Kim EK, Choi YH, Song KB. Burnout and its related factors in Korean dentists. Int Dent J. 2015;65(1):22–31.PubMedCrossRef
2.
3.
Shirom A, Melamed S, Toker S, Berliner S, Shapira I. Burnout and health review: current knowledge and future research directions. Int Rev Ind Organ Psychol. 2005;20(1):269.
4.
Aiken LH, Clarke SP, Sloane DM, Sochalski J, Silber JH. Hospital nurse staffing and patient mortality, nurse burnout, and job dissatisfaction. JAMA. 2002;288(16):1987–93.PubMedCrossRef
5.
Adriaenssens J, De Gucht V, Maes S. Determinants and prevalence of burnout in emergency nurses: a systematic review of 25 years of research. Int J Nurs Stud. 2015;52(2):649–61.PubMedCrossRef
6.
Turnipseed DL. An analysis of the influence of work environment variables and moderators on the burnout syndrome. J Appl Soc Psychol. 1994;24(9):782–800.CrossRef
7.
Hamdan M, Hamra AA. Burnout among workers in emergency Departments in Palestinian hospitals: prevalence and associated factors. BMC Health Serv Res. 2017;17(1):407.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
8.
Kumar S. Burnout and doctors: prevalence, prevention and intervention. Healthcare (Basel). 2016;4(3):37.CrossRef
9.
Shanafelt TD, Boone S, Tan L, Dyrbye LN, Sotile W, Satele D, West CP, Sloan J, Oreskovich MR. Burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance among US physicians relative to the general US population. Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(18):1377–85.PubMedCrossRef
10.
Arigoni F, Bovier PA, Mermillod B, Waltz P, Sappino AP. Prevalence of burnout among Swiss cancer clinicians, paediatricians and general practitioners: who are most at risk? Support Care Cancer. 2009;17(1):75–81.PubMedCrossRef
11.
Twellaar M, Winants Y, Houkes I. How healthy are Dutch general practitioners? Self-reported (mental) health among Dutch general practitioners. Eur J Gen Pract. 2008;14(1):4–9.PubMedCrossRef
12.
Soler JK, Yaman H, Esteva M, Dobbs F, Asenova RS, Katic M, Ozvacic Z, Desgranges JP, Moreau A, Lionis C, et al. Burnout in European family doctors: the EGPRN study. Fam Pract. 2008;25(4):245–65.PubMedCrossRef
13.
Orton P, Orton C, Pereira Gray D. Depersonalised doctors: a cross-sectional study of 564 doctors, 760 consultations and 1876 patient reports in UK general practice. BMJ Open. 2012;2:e000274.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
14.
Lee FJ, Stewart M, Brown JB. Stress, burnout, and strategies for reducing them What’s the situation among Canadian family physicians? Can Fam Physician. 2008;54(2):234–5.PubMedPubMedCentral
15.
O’Dea B, O’Connor P, Lydon S, Murphy AW. Prevalence of burnout among Irish general practitioners: a cross-sectional study. Ir J Med Sci. 2017;186(2):447–53.PubMedCrossRef
16.
Goehring C, Bouvier GM, Künzi B, Bovier P. Psychosocial and professional characteristics of burnout in Swiss primary care practitioners: a cross-sectional survey. Swiss Med Wkly. 2005;135(7–8):101–8.PubMed
17.
Cathebras P, Begon A, Laporte S, Bois C, Truchot D. Burn out among French general practitioners. Presse Med. 2004;33(22):1569–74.PubMedCrossRef
18.
Grassi L, Magnani K. Psychiatric morbidity and burnout in the medical profession: an Italian study of general practitioners and hospital physicians. Psychother Psychosom. 2000;69(6):329–34.PubMedCrossRef
19.
Thommasen HV, Lavanchy M, Connelly I, Berkowitz J, Grzybowski S. Mental health, job satisfaction, and intention to relocate - opinions of physicians in rural British Columbia. Can Fam Physician. 2001;47:737–44.PubMedPubMedCentral
20.
Yaman H, Soler JK. The job related burnout questionnaire. A multinational pilot study. Aust J Gen Pract. 2002;31(11):1055–6.
21.
Kirwan M, Armstrong D. Investigation of burnout in a sample of British general practitioners. Br J Gen Pract. 1995;45(394):259–60.PubMedPubMedCentral
22.
23.
McCormack HM, MacIntyre TE, O'Shea D, Herring MP, Campbell MJ. The prevalence and cause(s) of burnout among applied psychologists: a systematic review. Front Psychol. 2018;9:1897.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
24.
Wu H, Liu L, Wang Y, Gao F, Zhao X, Wang L. Factors associated with burnout among Chinese hospital doctors: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2013;13:786.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
25.
Wang ZH, Xie ZY, Dai JM, Zhang LQ, Huang YB, Chen B. Physician burnout and its associated factors: a cross-sectional study in Shanghai. J Occup Health. 2014;56(1):73–83.PubMedCrossRef
26.
27.
28.
Maslach C, Jackson SE. The measurement of experienced burnout. J Organ Behav. 1981;2(2):99–113.CrossRef
29.
Maslach C, Jackson SE, Leiter MP. Maslach burnout inventory. 3rd ed. Menlo Park: Mind Garden Inc.; 1996.
30.
Wang PX, Wang MZ, Hu GX, Wang ZM. Study on the relationship between workplace violence and work ability among health care professionals in Shangqiu City. Wei Sheng Yan Jiu. 2006;35(4):472–4.PubMed
31.
Maslach C, Goldberg J. Prevention of burnout: new perspectives. Appl Prev Psychol. 1998;7(1):63–74.CrossRef
32.
Erdur B, Ergin A, Yuksel A, Turkcuer I, Ayrik C, Boz B. Assessment of the relation of violence and burnout among physicians working in the emergency departments in Turkey. Ulus Travma Acil Cer. 2015;21(3):175–81.
33.
Alameddine M, Kazzi A, El-Jardali F, Dimassi H, Maalouf S. Occupational violence at Lebanese emergency departments: prevalence, characteristics and associated factors. J Occup Health. 2011;53(6):455–64.PubMedCrossRef
34.
Nowrouzi B, Nguyen C, Casole J, Nowrouzi-Kia B. Occupational stress: a comprehensive review of the top 50 annual and lifetime cited articles. Workplace Health Saf. 2017;65(5):197–209.PubMedCrossRef
35.
Wu SY, Lin SW, Li HY, Chai WL, Zhang QH, Wu YH, Zhu W. A study on workplace violence and its effect on quality of life among medical professionals in China. Arch Environ Occup H. 2014;69(2):81–8.CrossRef
36.
Roche M, Diers D, Duffield C, Catling-Paull C. Violence toward nurses, the work environment, and patient outcomes. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2010;42(1):13–22.CrossRefPubMed
37.
Camerino D, Estryn-Behar M, Conway PM, van Der Heijden BIJM, Hasselhorn HM. Work-related factors and violence among nursing staff in the European NEXT study: a longitudinal cohort study. Int J Nurs Stud. 2008;45(1):35–50.PubMedCrossRef
38.
Isaksson U, Graneheim UH, Richter J, Eisemann M, Astrom S. Exposure to violence in relation to personality traits, coping abilities, and burnout among caregivers in nursing homes: a case-control study. Scand J Caring Sci. 2008;22(4):551–9.PubMedCrossRef
39.
Yang BX, Stone TE, Petrini MA, Morris DL. Incidence, type, related factors, and effect of workplace violence on mental health nurses: a cross-sectional survey. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2018;32(1):31–8.PubMedCrossRef
40.
Wada K, Arimatsu M, Yoshikawa T, Oda S, Taniguchi H, Higashi T, Aizawa Y. Factors on working conditions and prolonged fatigue among physicians in Japan. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2008;82(1):59–66.PubMedCrossRef
41.
42.
Jiao M, Ning N, Li Y, Gao L, Cui Y, Sun H, Kang Z, Liang L, Wu Q, Hao Y. Workplace violence against nurses in Chinese hospitals: a cross-sectional survey. BMJ Open. 2015;5(3):e006719.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef
43.
Pihl-Thingvad J, Elklit A, Brandt LPA, Andersen LL. Workplace violence and development of burnout symptoms: a prospective cohort study on 1823 social educators. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2019;92(6):843.PubMedCrossRef
44.
Chen S, Lin S, Ruan Q, Li H, Wu S. Workplace violence and its effect on burnout and turnover attempt among Chinese medical staff. Arch Environ Occup Health. 2016;71(6):330–7.PubMedCrossRef
45.
Deniz T, Saygun M, Eroglu O, Ulger H, Azapoglu B. Effect of exposure to violence on the development of burnoutsyndrome in ambulance staff. Turk J Med Sci. 2016;46(2):296–302.PubMedCrossRef
46.
Kim H, Kim JS, Choe K, Kwak Y, Song JS. Mediating effects of workplace violence on the relationships between emotional labour and burnout among clinical nurses. J Adv Nurs. 2018;74(10):2331–9.PubMedCrossRef
47.
Linzer M, Visser MRM, Oort FJ, Smets EMA, McMurray JE, de Haes HCJM. Predicting and preventing physician burnout: results from the United States and the Netherlands. Am J Med. 2001;111(2):170–5.PubMedCrossRef
48.
Metadata
Title
Prevalence of burnout and associated factors among general practitioners in Hubei, China: a cross-sectional study
Authors
Yong Gan
Heng Jiang
Liqing Li
Yudi Yang
Chao Wang
Jianxin Liu
Tingting Yang
Sampson Opoku
Sai Hu
Hongbin Xu
Chulani Herath
Yuanyuan Chang
Pengqian Fang
Zuxun Lu
Publication date
01-12-2019
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2019
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7755-4

Other articles of this Issue 1/2019

BMC Public Health 1/2019 Go to the issue

Research article

Alcohol consumption’s attributable disease burden and cost-effectiveness of targeted public health interventions: a systematic review of mathematical models

Research article

Mental health workers perceptions of disaster response in China

Research article

Health system organisation and patient pathways: breast care patients’ trajectories and medical doctors’ practice in Mali

Research article

The indirect costs of ischemic heart disease through lost productive life years for Australia from 2015 to 2030: results from a microsimulation model

Research article

Attractive running environments for all? A cross-sectional study on physical environmental characteristics and runners’ motives and attitudes, in relation to the experience of the running environment

Research article

Evaluation of integrated disease surveillance and response (IDSR) core and support functions after the revitalisation of IDSR in Uganda from 2012 to 2016