Towards a National System-Level Intervention: Characterization of Burnout Among Trainees of Saudi Postgraduate Healthcare Professions Programs

TL;DR

This study examines burnout among Saudi healthcare trainees, finding high prevalence and identifying factors like long hours and harassment that contribute to it.

Contribution

The study provides national-level data on burnout among Saudi healthcare trainees and identifies specific risk factors and impacts.

Findings

56% of trainees reported burnout symptoms, with harassment and discrimination increasing the risk by 57% and 60%.

Burnout was associated with higher odds of depression, stress, and sleep disorders.

Female trainees had lower burnout rates, while those working ≥40 h/week had higher rates.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: High levels of burnout among healthcare professionals and trainees represent a global problem with identified profound impacts. The collection of national data for better characterization of this problem can guide more needs-sensitive targeted interventions. We aimed to identify the prevalence of burnout, the associated factors, and their impacts among trainees of Saudi postgraduate healthcare professions training programs. Methods: We conducted an anonymous, cross-sectional survey of 11,500 Saudi Commission for Health Specialties trainees from February to May 2019. The survey included items for socio-demographic data, physical health, and work-related items. We used validated instruments to measure burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory), stress (Perceived Stress Scale), and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9). Results: A total of 6606 postgraduate trainees from different healthcare professions responded (mean age of 28.8 ± 3 years). Fifty-six percent reported burnout symptoms. Burnout was lower among female trainees (aOR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.65–0.82) and higher in trainees working ≥40 h/week (aOR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.03–1.37) and doing ≥six on-call shifts/month (aOR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.03–1.37). Harassment and discrimination increased the risk of burnout by 57% and 60% (aOR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.36–1.80 and aOR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.38–1.86), respectively. Burnout trainees had 3.57 adjusted odds to report major depression (95% CI 3.11–4.09), were 1.25 times more likely to report major stress (95% CI 1.36–1.80), and were 1.8 times more likely to complain of sleep disorders (95% CI 1.60–2.04). Conclusion: This study identified several personal and work-related risk factors and impacts of burnout among our postgraduate trainees. The findings were helpful in guiding the expansion of the national Da’em well-being and prevention of burnout program efforts to a targeted system-level intervention.