Posttraumatic Stress and Burnout Symptoms in Forensic Doctors and Staff in a Mortuary

Abstract

We aimed to investigate burnout and posttraumatic stress symptoms in mortuary staff members who work for the Council of Forensic Medicine where more than 4500 autopsies are annually performed.The data were collected from 142 mortuary staff members from the Council of Forensic Medicine, Turkey. The participants were divided into the following 4 groups: forensic medicine specialists (n = 40, 28.2%), forensic medicine residents (n = 54, 38.0%), autopsy technicians (n = 24, 16.9%), and other staff members (n = 24, 16.9%). All of the participants completed a brief sociodemographic form and standardized questionnaires to assess health symptoms, such as the Maslach Burnout Inventory and Posttraumatic Symptom Screening Scale.Forensic medicine staff members are at risk for developing psychological health symptoms, such as burnout or posttraumatic stress, due to work-related stressors. We observed that autopsy technicians seemed to have more emotional exhaustion and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, whereas resident doctors had a lower sense of personal accomplishment.

Work burnout and coping strategies among Egyptian forensic physicians: a national study

“…Comparable results, 31.9%, 27.4%, and 22.2%, respectively, were reported by Elliott and Daley (2013). Whereas Kömür et al (2017) reported that 14% were highly emotionally exhausted, 32.4% were highly depersonalized, and 76.1% had a low sense of personal accomplishment level among mortuary staff members. The current study took moderate burnout levels into consideration, which mostly accounts for differences in prevalence.…”

“…On the other hand, forensic pathologists' job is mainly in the laboratory examining specimens from crime scenes. Similarly, Kömür et al (2017) found higher burnout in those performing autopsies than other mortuary staff, and Iorga et al (2016) reported higher emotional exhaustion among forensic physicians who faces critical situation.…”

“…Previous research was inconsistent about the role of gender in burnout. Some research found no difference between males and females in any subscale (Iorga et al 2016;Kömür et al 2017). Other research found that males had higher personal accomplishment scores, burnout levels, depersonalization scores, or male gender is a risk factor of burnout (Ebling and Carlotto 2012;Howlett et al 2015;Padyab et al 2016;Queirós et al 2020).…”

“…According to previous research, it was found that the older the individual and the more years of job experience, the less the burnout is presented. The ability to develop and practice more efficient coping strategies was an accepted explanation by most authors (Ebling and Carlotto 2012;Mella and Boutin 2013;Kömür et al 2017;Kriakous et al 2019;Queirós et al 2020).…”

“…A predesigned self-administered questionnaire (in English) was created after an extensive literature review and based on related studies (Elliott and Daley 2013;Iorga et al 2016;Kömür et al 2017;Kriakous et al 2019). It included the following: Personal data: age, sex, residence, marital status, smoking status, and education.…”