TY - JOUR
T1 - Associations between job demands, job resources and patient-related burnout among physicians: results from a multicentre observational study
AU - Scheepers, Renée
AU - Silkens, Milou
AU - van den Berg, Joost
AU - Lombarts, Kiki
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ. Copyright: This record is sourced from MEDLINE/PubMed, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
PY - 2020/9/24
Y1 - 2020/9/24
N2 - OBJECTIVES: To investigate associations of job demands and resources with patient-related burnout among physicians. DESIGN: Multicentre observational study. SETTING: Fifty medical departments at 14 (academic and non-academic) hospitals in the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred sixty-five physicians (71.6% response rate), comprising 385 (82.8%) medical specialists and 80 (17.2%) residents. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Job demands (workload and bureaucratic demands), job resources (participation in decision making, development opportunities, leader's inspiration, relationships with colleagues and patients)-measured with the validated Questionnaire of Experience and Evaluation of Work and Physician Worklife Survey-and patient-related burnout, measured using the validated Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. RESULTS: Patient-related burnout was positively associated with workload (b=0.36; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.48; p<0.001) and negatively associated with development opportunities (b=-0.18; 95% CI, -0.27 to -0.08; p<0.001) and relationships with patients (b=-0.12; 95% CI, -0.22 to -0.03; p=0.01). Relationships with patients moderated the association between bureaucratic demands and patient-related burnout (b=-0.15; 95% CI, -0.27 to -0.04; p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Physicians with high workloads and few development opportunities reported higher levels of patient-related burnout. Those with positive patient relationships were less likely to experience patient-related burnout, even in the presence of excessive bureaucracy. Therefore, positive physician-patient relationships may be supported to reduce the likelihood of physicians' patient-related burnout. However, the specific support needed to effectively reduce patient-related burnout may vary per healthcare context and thus requires intensified research across healthcare systems and settings.
AB - OBJECTIVES: To investigate associations of job demands and resources with patient-related burnout among physicians. DESIGN: Multicentre observational study. SETTING: Fifty medical departments at 14 (academic and non-academic) hospitals in the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred sixty-five physicians (71.6% response rate), comprising 385 (82.8%) medical specialists and 80 (17.2%) residents. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Job demands (workload and bureaucratic demands), job resources (participation in decision making, development opportunities, leader's inspiration, relationships with colleagues and patients)-measured with the validated Questionnaire of Experience and Evaluation of Work and Physician Worklife Survey-and patient-related burnout, measured using the validated Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. RESULTS: Patient-related burnout was positively associated with workload (b=0.36; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.48; p<0.001) and negatively associated with development opportunities (b=-0.18; 95% CI, -0.27 to -0.08; p<0.001) and relationships with patients (b=-0.12; 95% CI, -0.22 to -0.03; p=0.01). Relationships with patients moderated the association between bureaucratic demands and patient-related burnout (b=-0.15; 95% CI, -0.27 to -0.04; p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Physicians with high workloads and few development opportunities reported higher levels of patient-related burnout. Those with positive patient relationships were less likely to experience patient-related burnout, even in the presence of excessive bureaucracy. Therefore, positive physician-patient relationships may be supported to reduce the likelihood of physicians' patient-related burnout. However, the specific support needed to effectively reduce patient-related burnout may vary per healthcare context and thus requires intensified research across healthcare systems and settings.
KW - health policy
KW - human resource management
KW - medical education & training
KW - quality in health care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091616135&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038466
DO - https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038466
M3 - Article
C2 - 32973063
SN - 2044-6055
VL - 10
SP - e038466
JO - BMJ Open
JF - BMJ Open
IS - 9
ER -