Burnout, Resilience, Supervisory Support, and Quitting Intention among Healthcare Professionals in Saudi Arabia: A National Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

Although personal resilience and supervisory support are known to reduce the impact of burnout and quitting intention, there is limited data available to explore these relationships among healthcare professionals (HCPs) in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of burnout and explore its association with resilience, supervisory support, and intention to quit among Saudi Arabian HCPs. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was distributed to a convenience sample of HCPs between April and November 2022. Participants responded to socio-demographic questions, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel (MBI-HSS (MP)), the Connor-Davidson resilience scale 10 (CD-RISC 10), and the Perceived of Supervisor Support Scale (PSS). Descriptive, inferential, correlation, and logistic regression tests were performed for data analyses. Results: Of the 1174 HCPs included in the analysis, 77% were presented with high burnout levels: 58% with emotional exhaustion (EE), 72% with depersonalization (DP), and 66% with low personal accomplishment (PA). Females were associated with increased odds of burnout (OR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.04–2.06) compared to males. Burnout and its subscales were associated with higher intention to leave practice, with 33% of HCPs considering quitting their jobs. Furthermore, HCPs reported a low resilience score overall, and negative correlations were found between EE (r = −0.21; p < 0.001) and DP (r = −0.12; p < 0.01), and positive correlation with low PA (r = 0.38; p < 0.001). In addition, most HCPs perceived supervisory support as low, and it is associated with increased burnout and quitting intention. Conclusion: Burnout is common among HCPs across all clinical settings and is associated with higher intention to quit and low resilience and supervisory support. Workplace management should provide a supportive workplace to reduce burnout symptoms and promote resiliency.

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