Prevalence of burnout syndrome and its associated factors among MUHAS resident doctors in tertiary teaching hospitals Dar es salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

Background Burnout syndrome among both doctors in practice and training has reached epidemic levels, with prevalence near to or exceeding 50%. However, uncertainties exist about the prevalence of burnout syndrome among resident doctors in our settings. In addition, associations between burnout and gender, age, specialty, and geographical location of training remain unclear. The objective of the study: To determine the prevalence of burnout syndrome and its associated factors among MUHAS resident doctors at tertiary teaching hospitals in Dar es Salaam. Methodology; A cross-sectional study of 398 resident doctors from the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) practicing at tertiary teaching hospitals. Data was collected using a printed structured questionnaire which had two sections: Section one; Socio-demographic and professional characteristics and section two a validated instrument Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) for burnout evaluation. The obtained data were analyzed by Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) version 23. Continuous variables were summarized using the mean and standard deviation or median and interquartile range depending on their spread. Categorical variables were summarized using proportion and percentage. The chi-square test and multivariate logistic regressions were used to find the association between independent variables and the dependent variable. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: 398 residents participated in this study. The prevalence of burnout syndrome was 33.7%. Our study found that inadequate support from residency program supervisors, work-family related conflicts, stressful call perception, and each added year of study to be independently associated with burnout with odds ratios of (OR=1.97, 95%CI [1.23,3.14]; p=0.005), (OR=3.2; 95% CI [1.35,7.71]; p=0.008), (OR=3.31; 95% CI [1.90,5.76] p<0.001) and, (OR=1.5; 95% CI[1.23.3.14]; p=0.011) respectively. However, no significant association was found between burnout and age, marital status, specialty, year of experience, or number of call duty. Conclusion and Recommendation; Burnout syndrome prevalence is high among resident doctors in our setting and several factors such as poor support from residence program supervisors, year of residence are associated with it. Considering the high prevalence and its consequences there is a need for directing preventive and intervention measures in the residency training program. However, studies providing information on the state of burnout and its correlates among Tanzania residents are still very limited, hence more research are needed, to make a strong policy.