Analysis of the scientific production on burnout syndrome in primary care physicians
A narrative review with systematic search
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5712/rbmfc17(44)2937Keywords:
Burnout, professional, Primary health care, Physicians, family.Abstract
Introduction: Burnout syndrome is an adjustment disorder related to chronic stress in the work environment, with consequences both to the professional's health and quality of life and to their work organization and performance. Physicians from all specialties are vulnerable to the development of burnout syndrome. Those who work in primary health care — general practitioners and family physicians — seem to be at higher risk since they are exposed to several stressors in their practice. Research on burnout syndrome in primary care physicians has been gaining prominence in the past 20 years, but the scarcity of studies in Brazil makes it difficult to characterize the real impact of this syndrome on these professionals. Objective: To review the literature searching for publications related to burnout syndrome in primary care physicians and analyze them, systematizing the areas of interest. Methods: This is a narrative literature review on the burnout syndrome in primary care physicians based on a systematic search in the electronic databases PubMed and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), using the following descriptors: "burnout, professional", "physicians, primary care", and "physicians, family". The search was conducted in October 2018 and allowed the identification of 192 publications, of which 55 were included in the analysis and categorized according to the year of publication, country of origin, study design, and areas of interest. Results: Most studies (40) adopted an observational descriptive cross-sectional design. We also found two systematic reviews of observational studies, two qualitative descriptive studies, two longitudinal cohort studies, two randomized clinical trials, two opinion papers, two editorials, one time trial, one time series, and one case study. We found many topics investigating burnout syndrome in primary care physicians, but the studies are often observational and describe the prevalence of the syndrome in these professionals and the various associated variables. The most frequently studied variables are sociodemographic aspects and those related to the work environment or to the professional. Studies collecting epidemiological data about primary care physicians in Brazil are scarce, but this is an important step toward understanding how this syndrome behaves in our context. Conclusions: We need studies on the prevalence and impact of burnout syndrome on primary care physicians that can particularly investigate factors related to the environment and the work process. Clinical trials can provide evidence to combat burnout effectively. Qualitative studies can collect data on the motivations of professionals, as well as their behaviors, opinions, and expectations, guiding strategies for coping with this syndrome.
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