Assessment of Work Related Burnout and Triggered Factors Among Healthcare Physicians in Riyadh-Saudi Arabia,2024-Cross section

Key message: Our research mainly concentrated on the findings of health physicians working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which indicated the prevalence of burnout to be large. The major contributors that were independent variables of burnout included young age, presence of a variety of chronic conditions, including diabetes and depression, lack of desired amount of sleep, and lower satisfaction with work-life balance. These findings point to an increasing call for targeted interventions to reduce burnout and promote physician well-being so that excellent care can be delivered effectively to patients, and the healthcare system can sustain itself.

Objectives: The research will be done with basic objectives to establish the prevalence of work-related burnout and factors among physicians working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It shall document the key socio-demographic, health, and work-related determinants of incidence and course in this case.

Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 250 health care physicians working in different specialties in hospitals across Riyadh. Data was collected using an internet-based self-administered questionnaire, which included the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) questionnaire to measure burnout through three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Other data were obtained on variables of sociodemographic and work-related domains and self-reported health conditions.

Results: The results obtained a high spread of burnout among participants, who had high levels of emotional exhaustion with 32%, high depersonalization with 37.6%, and highly high personal accomplishment at 72%. More at potential risk were young physicians; among them, those below 30 years of age demonstrated high levels in regard to burnout, more in relation to the personal accomplishment scale. This would seem to suggest that there is an increased likelihood for clinic physicians to be at a risk much earlier as medical professionals are put under more demands and pressures associated with setting them up for their career. Also significantly associated with burnout were chronic health problems. Respondents having diabetes were much more likely to be emotionally exhausted (OR = 5.59), and those with depression were much more likely to be both emotionally exhausted (OR = 3.46) and to feel more depersonalization (OR = 3.89).Also a critical factor was sleep duration. Individuals who slept less than six hours daily had over twice the odds of burnout compared to those who slept for six to eight hours (OR=2.24). This finding is supported by the existing literature, in which enough sleep was also considered to be a very important factor in stress management and the prevention of burnout. Work-life balance was another major predictor for all categorically confirmed levels of burnout. Comparatively, physicians who reported to be very satisfied with work-life balance had significantly lower odds than those reported dissatisfied in developing emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment, and depersonalization. This establishes strongly that to avoid burnout, there has to be the maintenance of a healthy function and balance of professional responsibilities and private life.

Conclusion: The association of young age with burnout suggests its possible effective prevention in physicians at the stage of entry to professional practice, where early support and mentorship programs might provide most benefit in navigating the challenges of their profession. Consequently, the significant relationship of chronic health conditions with burnout imposes a mandate on the healthcare institution to empower the physicians concerned to better handle such conditions. If sleep deprivation does contribute so much to burnout, then physicians need to be advised on and educated about developing healthy sleep practices. Adequate rest and recovery are critical not only for the well-being of health workers but also to enable them to provide quality care to their patients. This result that the work-life balance dissatisfaction serves as a substantial predictor for burnout on all dimensions verifies the need for healthcare organizations to prioritize initiatives that promote a healthier balance between professional and personal life. These might include policies with regular breaks, tight restrictions on excessive overtime, and a flexible scheduling basis. Physician burnout in Riyadh is rather an essential and urgent issue of public health. Principal contributors for burnout in this population are younger age, chronic health conditions, inadequate sleep, and dissatisfaction from work-conjugal life balance. Addressing these factors by comprehensive strategies, together with the promotion of balance in work life, provision of support for mental health, and ensuring effective workload management, could go a long way in improving physician well-being in a bid to ensure that quality patient care is delivered.

Table 1: Prevalence of Burnout Among Healthcare Physicians in Riyadh .

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