Eveningness and its possibility of predicting burnout symptoms among physicians and nurses – preliminary results

Abstract

Introduction. A sense of burnout may seriously impair one’s functioning and well-being. It may also hamper the quality of care over a patient. The present study therefore assesses sleep quality and chronotype as predictors of a sense of burnout in physicians and nurses of a district hospital. Material and methods. The study group comprised 16 physicians and 31 nurses of a district hospital in Central Poland. The participants completed the Link Burnout Questionnaire (LBQ), Chronotype Questionnaire, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory. A linear regression model was constructed for each LBQ dimension by means of stepwise elimination. Each model was adjusted to empirical data (p<0.05). Results. A rise in Psychophysical exhaustion was predicted by greater scores for Morningness-Eveningness (ME) and Distinctness (DI) of the rhythm. A higher ME score was associated with higher scores in Relationship deterioration and Sense of professional ineffectiveness, with the latter also associated with presence in the nurses group. The nurses group also demonstrated higher Disillusionment and Psychophysical exhaustion scores than the physicians group. Conclusions. Eveningness predicted greater burnout in the studied sample. Thus, chronotype should be considered an important burnout risk factor and it can act as a starting point for devising behavioural interventions.

Can chronotype and social jet lag predict burnout among physical therapists?

“…Although the link between DI and Psychophysical Exhaustion scores identified in the present study reflects those identified in the previous research on physicians and nurses, the link between DI and Disillusionment does not (Mokros et al 2018). This disjunction may have influenced the specificity of the results and the observed differences between the studied samples; clearly, further verification is required.…”

“…It has also been associated with significant burnout and poor wellbeing in young adults (Gulec et al 2013;Merikanto et al 2016). It has been found that late chronotype can predict high psychophysical exhaustion, high relationship deterioration and an increased sense of professional ineffectiveness among physicians and nurses (Mokros et al 2018). Interestingly, this evening type may not only hamper mental status, but also increase the incidence of comorbid somatic diseases (Sahbaz et al 2018).…”

“…Less is known about the practical meaning of the distinctness of the rhythm, although it has been found to be positively correlated with depressive symptoms, neuroticism and psychophysical exhaustion as a burnout symptom (Oginska and Oginska-Bruchal 2014;Nowakowska-Domagała et al 2016;Mokros et al 2017Mokros et al , 2018.…”

Circadian Typology and Personality Dimensions of Croatian Students of Health-Related University Majors

“…It is possible that MD students tend to be more evening types than their peers, and since their workload is greater, this can also impact their wellbeing. Morningness-eveningness orientation should be considered as a significant risk factor for burnout, as observed in evening types [ 45 ]. Furthermore, evening-oriented individuals tend to have more depressive symptoms, as well as cognitive and behavioral problems, experiencing hyperactivity, attention deficit and tending towards impulsivity [ 21 , 46 ].…”