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Research papers on Physician burnout

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  1. The Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Worker Wellness: A Scoping Review

    J. Shreffler, Jessica Petrey, Martin R. Huecker · 2020 · Western Journal of Emergency Medicine · 502 citations

    At the heart of the unparalleled crisis of COVID-19, healthcare workers (HCWs) face several challenges treating patients with COVID-19: reducing the spread of infection; developing suitable short-term strategies; and formulating long-term plans. The psychological burden and overall wellness of HCWs has received heightened awareness in news and research publications. The purpose of this study was to provide a review on current publications measuring the effects of COVID-19 on wellness of healthcare providers to inform interventional strategies. Between April 6–May 17, 2020, we conducted systematic searches using combinations of these keywords and synonyms in conjunction with the controlled vo

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  2. The Impact of COVID-19 on Physician Burnout Globally: A Review

    Shabbir Amanullah, Rashmi Ramesh Shankar · 2020 · Healthcare · 200 citations

    Background: The current pandemic, COVID-19, has added to the already high levels of stress that medical professionals face globally. While most health professionals have had to shoulder the burden, physicians are not often recognized as being vulnerable and hence little attention is paid to morbidity and mortality within this group. Objective: To analyse and summarise the current knowledge on factors/potential factors contributing to burnout amongst healthcare professionals amidst the pandemic. This review also makes a few recommendations on how best to prepare intervention programmes for physicians. Methods: In August 2020, a systematic review was performed using the database Medline and Em

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  4. The effects of different types of organisational workplace mental health interventions on mental health and wellbeing in healthcare workers: a systematic review

    Birgit Aust, Caleb Leduc, J. Cresswell-Smith, et al. · 2024 · International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health · 59 citations

    To determine if and which types of organisational interventions conducted in small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in healthcare are effective on mental health and wellbeing. Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched six scientific databases, assessed the methodological quality of eligible studies using QATQS and grouped them into six organisational intervention types for narrative synthesis. Only controlled studies with at least one follow-up were eligible. We identified 22 studies (23 articles) mainly conducted in hospitals with 16 studies rated of strong or moderate methodological quality. More than two thirds (68%) of the studies reported improvements in at least one primary outcome (m

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  5. Physician Burnout: Evidence-Based Roadmaps to Prioritizing and Supporting Personal Wellbeing

    Louise Underdahl, Mary Ditri, L. Duthely · 2024 · Journal of Healthcare Leadership · 48 citations

    Abstract Current literature validates the magnitude of physician burnout as a complex challenge affecting physicians, patients, and healthcare delivery that mandates science-informed intervention. Physician burnout affects both individual practitioners and patient care delivery. Interventions, defined as roadmaps, to prioritizing and supporting personal wellbeing encompass organizational, individual, and moral injury, with virtually no consensus on optimal approaches. The purpose of this conceptual review is to present evidence-based innovative insights on contributing factors, mitigation, and designing adaptive systems to combat and prevent burnout. Science-informed policy initiatives that

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  7. The “Healthcare Workers’ Wellbeing (Benessere Operatori)” Project: A Picture of the Mental Health Conditions of Italian Healthcare Workers during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

    V. D. Di Mattei, G. Perego, F. Milano, et al. · 2021 · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 25 citations

    During the last year, the COVID-19 outbreak put all the healthcare workers around the world at risk of physical and psychological sequelae. The general purpose of the present study was to assess the mental health of Italian healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak and to identify high-risk groups. Here, we present results from the baseline assessment of the “Healthcare workers’ wellbeing (Benessere Operatori)” project on a sample of 1055 healthcare workers. Participants completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, the Insomnia Severity Index, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Healthcare workers who

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  9. The “Healthcare Workers’ Wellbeing [Benessere Operatori]” Project: A Longitudinal Evaluation of Psychological Responses of Italian Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

    G. Perego, F. Cugnata, C. Brombin, et al. · 2022 · Journal of Clinical Medicine · 21 citations

    Background: COVID-19 forced healthcare workers to work in unprecedented and critical circumstances, exacerbating already-problematic and stressful working conditions. The “Healthcare workers’ wellbeing (Benessere Operatori)” project aimed at identifying psychological and personal factors, influencing individuals’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: 291 healthcare workers took part in the project by answering an online questionnaire twice (after the first wave of COVID-19 and during the second wave) and completing questions on socio-demographic and work-related information, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, the Insomnia Severity Index, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, the Sta

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  10. ‘It’s like juggling fire daily’: Well-being, workload and burnout in the British NHS - A survey of 721 physicians

    C. Dominic, D. Gopal, A. Sidhu · 2021 · Work · 18 citations

    BACKGROUND: Physicians are at higher risk for burnout than workers in other fields. Burnout negatively impacts physician health, care delivery and healthcare cost. Existing studies quantify the workforce affected by burnout whilst qualitative studies use specific specialty groups limiting generalisability of solutions. This is important given increased stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to understand the causes of work-related burnout, identify what supportive resources physicians utilise, and to propose solutions. METHODS: A questionnaire was circulated between March and May 2019 via the ‘Doctors’ Association UK’ website and social media. RESULTS: 721 responses

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  11. Emotional demands, burnout, and mental wellbeing in healthcare, care, and service work: the mediating role of surface acting across age

    Tímea Zsuzsanna Popucza, L. Eriksson, Mårten Eriksson · 2025 · Frontiers in Organizational Psychology · 17 citations

    This study examines how emotional demands and surface acting contribute to burnout and mental wellbeing among professionals in healthcare, care, and service roles. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 1,506 participants involved in frequent patient, care-receiver, or customer interactions. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), we tested a serial mediation model. Surface acting mediated the relationship between emotional demands and burnout, defined as exhaustion and disengagement. In turn, these burnout dimensions mediated a negative association with mental wellbeing. These effects were consistent across professional groups, indicating the widespr

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  12. The effect of job and personal demands and resources on healthcare workers’ wellbeing: A cross-sectional study

    C. Yousef, Ali Farooq, Gigi Amateau, et al. · 2024 · PLOS ONE · 15 citations

    The COVID-19 pandemic presented many psychological stressors which affected healthcare worker wellbeing. The aim of this study was to understand the factors that affect the wellbeing of healthcare professionals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia using Job-Demand and Resource (JD-R) Model. The proposal model consisted of demand factors (Work load—job demand, loneliness—personal demand), support factors (organizational support—job resource, and resilience—personal resource), mediators (burnout and work engagement), and outcome (wellbeing) A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted across 276 healthcare workers from hospitals and primary healthcare centers, including healthcare professional

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  13. Burnout Among Healthcare Workers: Insights for Holistic Well-Being

    Carina Fernandes, Carla Barros, Pilar Baylina · 2025 · Healthcare · 12 citations

    Background/Objectives: In the healthcare sector, burnout has become a critical concern due to high job demands and emotional strain. The main objective of the study is to examine the predictive role of psychosocial work-related risks in the development of burnout. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, using a snowball recruitment method, from May to September 2025, among 154 healthcare workers. Data were collected using the psychosocial risk factors scale (INSAT_ERPS) and the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) and analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the predictive role of the psychosocial risk on burnout dimensions. Results: Psychosocial risk factors are cons

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  14. Psychological wellbeing and the association with burnout in a cohort of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

    Jacqueline Bannon, C. Evans, M. Freedman, et al. · 2022 · Frontiers in Health Services · 9 citations

    Burnout, depression, and anxiety are prevalent among healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic and have been previously shown to contribute to poor health outcomes and reduced quality of care. Positive psychological constructs such as positive affect and meaning and purpose are related to resilience in the face of significant stress. No studies have examined these associations among a cohort of HCWs during this pandemic. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of depression, anxiety, positive affect, and meaning and purpose with burnout among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. We utilized data from a cross-sectional survey conducted between September 29-December

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  16. The Mental Wellbeing of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Workers in England: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study Reporting Levels of Burnout, Wellbeing and Job Satisfaction

    Silvana Mareva, Beth Chapman, Rebecca Hardwick, et al. · 2024 · Healthcare · 8 citations

    In the UK, there has been a notable increase in referrals to specialist children’s mental health services. This, coupled with shortages of qualified staff, has raised concerns about the escalating occupational stress experienced by staff in this sector. In this brief report, we present cross-sectional quantitative data from 97 staff members working in one Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in the UK during spring 2023, reporting on their wellbeing, job satisfaction, and burnout. Our findings reveal that over a third of CAMHS staff experienced moderate or high levels of work-related burnout; 39% reported moderate or high levels of personal burnout, but levels of client-related

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  17. Finding and doing what matters most: Five productivity strategies for physicians in academic medicine

    A. Schwartz, Sonja R. Solomon · 2022 · Medical teacher · 7 citations

    Abstract While structural change is needed to address the burnout epidemic among healthcare workers, it is important for physicians to avail themselves of the many productivity strategies that can help them succeed in navigating the multiple responsibilities of academic medicine. We present here 5 key strategies within our control that can help increase productivity in the pursuit of work in academic medicine that is meaningful and sustainable: (1) Clarify Priorities, (2) Track Tasks Systematically, (3) Focus and Monotask, (4) Invest in Timesavers, and (5) Celebrate Successes. The specific tools listed under each strategy may help academic physicians feel grounded and maintain our focus on d

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  18. The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pediatric Physician Wellness: A Cross-Sectional Study

    Joshua Belfer, L. Feld, Sophia Jan, et al. · 2022 · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 5 citations

    The COVID-19 pandemic has provided challenges to all healthcare workers. While the brunt of treating COVID-19 patients fell upon adult providers, pediatricians also experienced significant stressors and disruptions. Academic pediatricians and trainees (fellows and residents) were redeployed to manage adult patients in hospitalist and intensive care settings and/or had major changes to their clinical schedules. In this study, we aimed to describe levels of self-reported depression, anxiety, and burnout in pediatric physicians following the initial wave of the pandemic at the largest integrated health system in New York State. A cross-sectional study was conducted among pediatric physicians wh

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  20. Redeployed PM&R Trainees Rely on Pro-Social Behavior during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Survey Analysis

    C. Kent, Laura Tabacof, Andrew D. Delgado, et al. · 2020 · Journal of Scientific Innovation in Medicine · 3 citations

    The wellbeing and emotional resilience of healthcare workers are key components in maintaining essential health care services during the COVID-19 virus outbreak and beyond. This survey, distributed to physiatry trainees who were redeployed as general medicine physicians taking care of COVID-19 positive patients, sought to find out how trainees were dealing with the existing crisis and to identify their coping strategies used at this time of extreme uncertainty. Trainee wellness and burnout were objectively measured using the Physician Well Being Index (PWBI) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) respectively. Independent qualitative analysis was applied to the sur

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  21. Long COVID and its associations with burnout, anxiety, and depression among U. S. healthcare workers in the United States

    T. Vu, Miao-Lin Hua, Cerina Dubois, et al. · 2025 · Frontiers in Public Health · 2 citations

    Background Data on Long COVID and its associations with burnout, anxiety and depression among healthcare workers (HCW) in the United States (U. S.) is limited. Methods This study utilized cross-sectional data from the final survey conducted in July 2023, which was part of a longitudinal cohort study assessing COVID-19-related burnout and wellbeing among healthcare workers (HCWs) in a large tertiary academic healthcare system in the Chicago area. The survey included questions on self-reported Long COVID status, as well as the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) to measure burnout and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) computer adaptive tests (CAT) to assess a

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  22. Enhancing maternity healthcare workers’ wellbeing using insider participatory action research

    Clare Wood, Mary Chambers, J. Marshall · 2025 · BMC Health Services Research · 1 citations

    Good healthcare worker (HCW) wellbeing positively impacts service user outcomes, yet the United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service (NHS) is suffering workforce burnout and retention issues. While urgently needing evidence-based wellbeing strategies, participatory interventions using positive psychology have been under-investigated. We aimed to develop a caring, collegial NHS labour ward environment wherein HCWs created paths to enhancing individual and collective workplace wellbeing. Insider Participatory Action Research (IPAR) used positive psychology within a social constructionist, pragmatic approach. All clinical and non-clinical HCWs on a consultant-led labour ward in the East Midland

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  23. How COVID-19 changed frontline healthcare workers’ experiences: A narrative inquiry into the impact of chronic burnout on a surgical physician assistant’s wellness

    Lihua Dishman, Rhionna J. Smith · 2023 · Patient Experience Journal · 1 citations

    Burnout is an occupational phenomenon resulting from unmanaged chronic workplace stress. Since COVID-19 started, burnout among healthcare workers has worsened and become a public health crisis. Wellness is about leading a physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy lifestyle to achieve one’s full potential through positive affirmations. Its multiple dimensions include (1) physical, (2) emotional, (3) intellectual, (4) occupational, (5) social, and (6) spiritual. Extant empirical literature lacked regarding surgical physician assistants and how chronic burnout affected their wellness. This longitudinal narrative inquiry thus aimed to explore the perceived impact of a surgical physician assi

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  24. Reducing Burnout, Suicide & Wellbeing among Healthcare Professionals:

    Nagina Khan · 2024 · Sushruta Journal of Health Policy & Opinion

    Recently the lack of well-being, higher rates of burnout and reports of suicide in healthcare professionals have become an area of concern for organisations. Physician and nurse suicides are a worry and subject of increasing ‘professional and public health interest. Despite good resources to help others, healthcare workers are sacrificing their well-being. Moreover, systemic barriers by organisational culture and policy are often preventing self-care or help-seeking actions.

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