Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Burnout in Primary Care Physicians in Catalonia

Abstract

Background: Recent demands to raise the clinical quality, improve the patient experience, and decrease costs have progressively increased burnout among primary care physicians. This overstretched situation has been greatly aggravated since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study is to analyse the prevalence of burnout among primary care physicians and to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on burnout. Methods: This was a multicentre longitudinal descriptive study of occupational factors and burnout before and since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to assess the impact of the pandemic on burnout in primary care physicians, two paired groups of physicians were compared using Wilcoxon’s and McNemar’s tests. Results: In January 2019, 10% of primary care physicians scored high on all burnout domains. Seven months into the COVID-19 pandemic (October 2020), this percentage increased to 50%. Paired groups analysis showed unprecedented worsening due to the pandemic: emotional exhaustion, which already affected 55% of primary care physicians, jumped to 77%. Conclusions: Burnout is endemic among primary care physicians. It has been associated with lower patient satisfaction, reduced health outcomes, and increased costs. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed burnout in primary care professionals to the edge.

Comparison of the burnout among medical residents before and during the pandemic

“…When we look at the studies in other countries, in a study comparing the burnout of primary care physicians by years, it was shown that the biggest change was the decrease in PA, like in our study (Seda-Gombau et al, 2021). As a result of the analysis, before the pandemic, an upward trend for EE and DP and a downward trend for PA were observed and then aggravated by the prolongation of the pandemic (Seda-Gombau et al, 2021).…”

“…When we look at the studies in other countries, in a study comparing the burnout of primary care physicians by years, it was shown that the biggest change was the decrease in PA, like in our study (Seda-Gombau et al, 2021). As a result of the analysis, before the pandemic, an upward trend for EE and DP and a downward trend for PA were observed and then aggravated by the prolongation of the pandemic (Seda-Gombau et al, 2021). Although we could not observe this trend with the data in our study, one year after the first case in Turkey (March 11, 2020), a decrease in PA was observed in our study, which can be explained by the prolongation of the pandemic.…”

“…In studies, EE scores were found to be higher in women, single people, those with less professional years, with longer working hours, those who experienced sleep deprivation, and who worked in shifts (Kılıç et al, 2021; Seda-Gombau et al, 2021; Sengul et al, 2021). The effects of work-home conflicts and maternal responsibilities on female health workers are known (Kılıç et al, 2021; Soares et al, 2022).…”

“…In our study, multiple regression analysis showed that being a woman increased the IE score. It is known that the high number of night shifts that cause sleep deprivation and poor-quality sleep increases burnout (Seda-Gombau et al, 2021; Sevinc et al, 2022). In our study, multiple regression analysis showed that each increase in the number of night shifts per month increased the EE score.…”

Psychological distress among outpatient physicians in private practice linked to COVID-19 and related mental health during the second lockdown

“…A study of 40 Catalan general practitioners (GP) showed the mental health impact of the pandemic on doctors, with a significant increase in severe burnout from 10% before the pandemic in 2019 to 50% during the pandemic in October 2020 ( Seda-Gombau et al, 2021 ). In Singapore, a study of 257 GPs found anxiety (21%), depression (26.6%), and burnout (82%) ( Lum et al, 2021 ).…”