# Measurement of doctor wellbeing prior to the Covid pandemic: a methodological systematic review

## TL;DR

This paper reviews how doctor wellbeing was measured before the pandemic, finding inconsistent methods and outcomes.

## Contribution

The study systematically categorizes wellbeing outcomes and measurement tools used in doctors, highlighting significant heterogeneity.

## Key findings

- 369 non-unique wellbeing outcomes were identified across 218 studies.
- The term 'wellbeing' appeared in 258 outcomes, alongside other positive or pathological concepts.
- The Maslach Burnout Inventory was the most frequently used measurement tool.

## Abstract

There is no consensus definition of wellbeing, yet it is a key outcome for workforces.

To describe which wellbeing outcomes had been measured in doctors and which wellbeing outcome measurement instruments had been used with doctors.

A methodological review of existing literature. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PsycINFO and the International Bibliography of Social Science were searched for all study types, in all languages. Wellbeing outcomes were categorized as being operationalized in the aims, methods or results and by whether the outcome used to represent wellbeing included the word wellbeing, another positive concept, a pathological symptom, a pathology and were work- or doctor-specific. The outcome measurement instruments used were then categorized and the frequency collected.

A total of 218 studies were included in this review. The total number of unique outcomes used to capture wellbeing in the eligible studies was 57, with 369 non-unique outcomes. Two hundred and fifty-eight of the outcomes used contained the word wellbeing, its components and other positive concepts. For the outcome ‘general wellbeing’ alone, 92 different measurement tools were used. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was the most frequently used measurement tool for all outcomes and was used in 34 studies.

Wellbeing has been measured heterogeneously in doctors in terms of the outcomes and the outcome measurement instruments used. In approximately one-third of the times it was measured, the best that could be achieved was an absence of pathological symptoms, as a negative concept operationalized it.