Prevalence, features and workplace factors associated with burnout among intensivists in Australia and New Zealand

Shona Mair; Liz Crowe; Mark Nicholls; Siva Senthuran; Kristen Gibbons; Daryl Jones

doi:10.51893/2022.3.OA8

Prevalence, features and workplace factors associated with burnout among intensivists in Australia and New Zealand

Crit Care Resusc. 2023 Oct 18;24(3):280-288. doi: 10.51893/2022.3.OA8. eCollection 2022 Sep 5.

Authors

Shona Mair^{1

2

3

4}, Liz Crowe^{1

3}, Mark Nicholls^{4

5

6}, Siva Senthuran^{4

7

8}, Kristen Gibbons⁹, Daryl Jones^{10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
² Children's Critical Care Unit, Gold Coast University Hospital, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.
³ Wellbeing Office, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁴ Professional Affairs and Welfare Committee, Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁵ Intensive Care Unit, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁶ Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁷ Intensive Care Unit, Townsville Hospital, Townsville, QLD, Australia.
⁸ Faculty of Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.
⁹ Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
¹⁰ Department of Intensive Care, Austin Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
¹¹ Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and features of self-reported burnout among intensivists working in Australia and New Zealand, and evaluate potentially modifiable workplace stressors associated with increased risk of self-reported burnout. Methods: We performed an electronic survey among registered intensivists in Australia and New Zealand. Burnout and professional quality of life were measured using the Professional Quality of Life Scale version 5 (ProQOL-5). Socio-organisational factors were defined a priori and assessed using a five-point Likert scale. Thematic analysis was conducted on an open-ended question on workplace stressors. Results: 261 of 921 estimated intensivists responded (response rate, 28.3%). Overall, few participants (0.8%) demonstrated high scores (> 75th centile) for burnout, and 70.9% of participants scored in the average range for burnout. Of note, 98.1% of participants scored in the average to high range for compassion satisfaction. No association was found between sex, age, or years of practice with the level of burnout or compassion satisfaction. Seven themes emerged regarding intensivists' most stressful aspects of work: interpersonal interactions and workplace relationships (25.5%), workload and its impact (24.9%), resources and capacity (22.6%), health systems leadership and bureaucracy (16.1%), end-of-life issues and moral distress (8.4%), clinical management (4.9%), and job security and future uncertainty (1.3%). Conclusion: Fewer Australian and New Zealand intensivists experienced burnout than previously reported. Many self-reported work stressors do not relate to clinical work and are due to interpersonal interactions with other colleges and hospital administrators. Such factors are potentially modifiable and could be the focus of future interventions.