Prevalence of burnout in medical students in Guatemala: Before and during Covid-19 pandemic comparison

Abstract

Burnout is a syndrome consisting of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion along with depersonalization and poor sense of personal accomplishment. Often related to work conditions. Several recent studies from around the world have shown high rates of burnout among medical students in different countries. In Guatemala City, we decided to assess levels of burnout in 2017 and then again in December 2020. In the first wave from one private medical school, we had a total of 159 respondents (response rate of 56.7%) and 132 (48.5%) in the second wave. Not surprisingly rates of burnout were higher during the pandemic even though response rate is lower. Surprisingly we found that rates of depersonalization had not increased, and levels of personal accomplishment had. These findings present a mixed picture of levels of burnout in Guatemala City. Further qualitative research is indicated to explore cultural differences in order to set up appropriate and suitable intervention strategies.

The impact of covid-19: Anxiety, depression, and wellbeing among medical students

“…For example, 68% of medical students in Australia reported a deterioration of their mental well-being after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (Lyons et al, 2020). Similar data have been reported in Pakistan (Noreen et al, 2020) or Guatemala with an increase of burnout symptoms (Ruiz et al, 2022). A study on the psycho-emotional well-being of medical students in Kazakhstan under the COVID-19 pandemic reported the presence of anxiety and depression symptoms at HADS in 39.0% and 40.6% of students, respectively; also, clinically significant levels of anxiety and depression were detected in 19.4% and 16.1% of students, respectively (Popova et al, 2021).…”

“…All the discussed evidences suggest the need of implementing programs to increase resilience to emotional stress among medical students (Avilov & Galiulina, 2020). All efforts should be made to prevent consequences of burnout, poor psychological well-being in future medical professionals (Chumakov et al, 2022; Ruiz et al, 2022; Watson et al, 2020). Medical schools should implement programs in order to manage stress, identify students at risk for developing mental disorders, and ensure easy access to specialized mental health services (Kasimova et al, 2018; Ruzhenkova, 2020).…”

Burnout, mental health, physical symptoms, and coping behaviors in healthcare workers in Belize amidst COVID-19 pandemic: A nationwide cross-sectional study

“…Absence of burnout assessment before the COVID-19 pandemic in Belize does not allow for comparison with pre-pandemic estimates. In the neighboring country of Guatemala, a study that assessed burnout in medical students found that rates of burnout were high and increased during the pandemic, when compared to pre-pandemic levels ( Ruiz et al, 2022 ). This is in line with recent studies, which confirm similar trends ( Morgantini et al, 2020 ).…”