Burnout Syndrome Among Primary Care Physicians in Oman

Abstract

Objectives Medical professionals are exposed to many job stressors everyday, which can lead to psychological disturbances as well as burnout syndrome. We sought to assess the level of burnout among primary care physicians (PCPs) in Oman and explore risk factors for its development. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional, analytical study among a random cluster sample of 190 PCP working in Muscat, Oman. Indices of burnout (emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA)) were noted using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). We also used a questionnaire to obtain sociodemographic and job characteristics data. We used a binary logistic regression model and both unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios for statistical analysis. Results The prevalence of burnout in all three dimensions was 6.3%. High levels of MBI-HSS subscales were reported on EE, DP and PA with 17.8%, 38.2%, and 21.5%, respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed that working over 40 hours per week was the most important risk factor for burnout among PCPs. Conclusions A total of 6.3% of PCPs working in urban areas in Oman suffered burnout. Long working hours was strongly associated with high occupational burnout. Solutions to eliminate or decrease the rate of burnout involve institutional changes, primarily respecting weekly working hours, and in more severe cases psychotherapy help is very important.

Depressive symptoms among primary healthcare workers during the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic in the Muscat governorate

“…Due to these factors, PHC tends to exhibit high rates of turnover and those in the field are often prone to high risk of depressive disorders, poor job performance, and high rates of absenteeism (Al-Makhaita et al, 2014). In Oman, Al-Hashemi et al (2019) examined occupational burnout using the Maslach Burnout Inventory among PHCWs in an urban city of Oman, Muscat. This study reported a 6.3% prevalence of burnout and longer working hours was found to be strongly associated with the development of depressive symptoms.…”

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“…The latter study also reported that burnout was associated with being dissatisfied with work and intending to change jobs [58]. With regard to work environment, one study reported a weak association between workload and burnout while another showed more work hours to be associated with burnout [58,59]. One study looked at specific environmental factors and showed that disorganized patient flow to clinics, more paper work, and less cooperative colleagues were associated with high EE.…”

“…There were seven studies addressing physicians in primary health care (PHC) [53][54][55][56][57][58][59]. These studies came from five countries: KSA; UAE; Qatar; Oman and Kuwait.…”

“…All of them used the MBI or MBI-HSS except one, which used AAM [55]. In the five studies consisting only of practicing physicians that provided prevalence rates, the overall burnout rate among practicing physicians was 12.6% (range between 2.7% and 25%) [55][56][57][58][59]. Overall, the results revealed a wide range of the percentage of physicians with high EE and PA (from 11% to 70% and 12% to 63% respectively) and a narrower range for DP (13%-38%).…”

The magnitude and effect of work-life imbalance on cognition and affective range among the non-western population: A study from Muscat

“…As a result, urbanization and dependence on the modern cash economy have become a rule rather than an exception. Amid such changes, there is growing evidence to suggest that occupational stress or burnout once reported in industrialized countries are increasingly becoming common in many such societies in transition [ 2 ]. The Chinese sage, Confucius, who lived in the 6th century, is credited to have said: "choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”.…”