Based on the findings, researchers are now arguing that programmes aimed at reducing burnout levels among hospital workers should take into account all professional categories, and not just professionals who deal more directly with patients.
Burnout syndrome generally manifests in three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and lack of personal fulfilment.
The research, published in the journal ‘Occupational Medicine’, was carried out to try and fill a lack of information on the prevalence of burnout in hospital professionals whose functions are not directly linked to the treatment of illnesses.
ISPUP researcher Ana Henriques explained that “burnout syndrome was more frequently assessed in doctors and nurses, but less studied in other professionals who work in a hospital environment.”
Besides seeking to evaluate the prevalence of burnout in five categories of hospital professionals (medical assistants, nurses, senior health technicians and diagnostic and therapeutic, administrative and medical technicians), the investigation also sought to understand to what extent professional category is associated with high levels of burnout.
A total of 368 hospital professionals participated in the study, who answered a questionnaire via e-mail.
“Among doctors, nurses and administrative staff, we found a high risk of burnout in very similar proportions. However, this does not mean that the reasons that lead to burnout are the same”, says Ana Henriques, who defends the need for further studies to assess the causes of this syndrome.
With regard to public health policies, the study stresses that “future programmes aimed at reducing levels of burnout in the hospital environment should take into account all professional categories and the specificities of each.”
The study, ‘The effect of profession on burnout in hospital staff’, is also undersigned by researchers Maria Manuel Marques, Elisabete Alves, Cristina Queirós and Pedro Norton.
The Occupational Health Service of the São João Hospital Centre, the Porto University Medicine Faculty’s Department of Public Health, Forensic Sciences and Medical Education, and the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Porto, also participated in the research.