Occupational Burnout and Job Satisfaction Among Physicians in Times of COVID-19 Crisis: A Convergent Parallel Mixed-Method Study

Abstract

Background Healthcare professionals including physicians were subjected to an increased workload during the COVID-19 crisis, leaving them exposed to significant physical and psychological distress. Therefore, our present study aimed to (i) assess the prevalence of burnout and level of job satisfaction among physicians in Jordan, and (ii) explore physicians’ opinions, experiences, and perceptions during the pandemic crisis.Methods This was a mixed-method study that utilized a structured web-based questionnaire and semi-structured individual interviews. The 10-Item Burnout Measure, Short version (BMS), and the 5-Item Short Index of Job Satisfaction (SIJS) were adopted to assess occupational burnout and job satisfaction, respectively. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, based on a conceptual framework that was developed from Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory of Motivation and Job Demands-Resources Model. Descriptive statistics and regression models as well as inductive thematic analysis were used to analyze quantitative and qualitative data, respectively.Results A total of 973 survey responses and 11 interviews were included in our analysis. The prevalence of burnout among physicians was (57.7%). Several significant factors were positively associated with burnout, including female gender, working at highly loaded hospitals, working for long hours, doing night shifts, lack of sufficient access to personal protective equipment, and being positively tested for SARS-CoV-2. Regarding job satisfaction, regression analysis revealed that age was positively associated with higher levels of job satisfaction. On contrary, being a general practitioner or specialist, working at highly loaded hospitals, low salaries, and suffering from burnout have predicted lower levels of job satisfaction.Besides, four themes have emerged from the thematic analysis: (i)Work-induced psychological distress during the pandemic, (ii)Decision-driven satisfactory and dissatisfactory experiences, (iii)Impact of the pandemic on doctor-patient communication and professional skills, and (iv)Economic impacts of the pandemic crisis and lockdown.Conclusion A significant physical and psychological burden was associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Reliable efforts should be implemented aiming at protecting physicians’ physical and mental wellbeing, enhancing their working conditions, and raising awareness about burnout. Evidence-based decisions and proper utilization of financial and human resources at institutional and national levels are believed to be crucial for the sustainability of the health workforce, especially in crises.

Occupational Burnout Among Public Medical Officers During the Early Stage of Covid-19 Pandemic in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

“…Doctors with more than 60 working hours per week and doing night shift would be expected to have a significantly much higher prevalence of burnout however in this study, however, there was no significant differences in the prevalence of burnout among them. The finding was contradicted with other studies done in various countries where long working hours and night shift were significantly associated with burnout [33][34][35] . The contradiction might be due to that those medical officers had already been able to cope with the long working hours and night shift as they have been experienced during their housemanship training years 36 .…”

A Systematic Review: The Dimensions utilized in the Performance Evaluation of Healthcare- An Implication during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Researchers summarized the emerging technologies used to mitigate the threats of COVID-19 in the following categories: artificial intelligence/ deep learning, big data analytics, High-Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructures, robots, 3D printing technology, digital contact tracing technology, blockchain [113], bioinformatics systems, telemedicine, mobile phone, decision support system, the IC system in HCO, online interactive dashboard/ Geographic Information System (GIS), Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality (VR), surveillance systems, internet search queries [123,124] Governments, health care systems, and HCO need to keep updated with the emerging technologies in this field, allocate resources to invest in them, and develop the required skills in HCWs to utilize them properly.…”

“…The protective equipment used by the HCWs in the pandemic could have imposed a barrier on having effective communication or eye contact with them [112]. Some pediatricians reported a noticeable difficulty in communicating with families and following up with patients especially the newly discharged neonates and infants using the telephone [113].…”

“…Physicians referred to the importance of reliable acknowledgment and motivation both emotionally and financially, considering the sacrifices they provide every day [113]. Parallel to this, staffing and recruitment of an adequate number of medical and non-medical HCWs were considered an important KPI for the PE of HCOs at COVID-19 [6].…”

Beliefs Toward Smoking and COVID-19, and The Pandemic Impact on Smoking Behavior and Quit Intention: Findings from a Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study in Jordan

“…The successive pandemic waves accompanied by many factors such as people's non-compliance to the recommended health precautions, pandemic fatigue, and the pandemic-induced psychologic and economic impacts were all believed to have negative impacts on the epidemic situation in Jordan [9][10][11]. Also, the successive pandemic waves have impacted the health system imposing a significant burden on healthcare institutions and the health workforce in the country [9,12].…”