Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to estimate the association of burnout level with lifestyle and relaxation among dentists in Lithuania. A better understanding of this association could help in the development of targeted interventions to prevent burnout among these professionals.MethodsThe survey was conducted among practising dentists (N = 380) using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and an authors’ proposed scale to measure lifestyle and relaxation. Poisson regression was applied to examine the association between variables.ResultsRegular cigarette smoking among dentists in Lithuania was 16.8 % and alcohol consumption was 31.3 %. Some forms of active relaxation were also common: regular playing sports (57.9 %), and spending time in nature (61.4 %). Emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalization (DP) burnout dimensions were negatively related to the regular use of illegal substances, alcohol, medication and smoking, while personal achievement (PA) was negatively related to smoking only. Dentists who regularly exercised had significantly lower EE and DP sum scores, and better assessments of PA. There were also positive relationships of EE, DP and PA sum scores with the variables of relaxation (e.g., spending time with family or friends, visiting a theatre, engaging in art, listening to music).ConclusionsIt was concluded that the burnout dimensions are negatively associated with unhealthy lifestyle factors and positively associated with active relaxation among dentists in Lithuania. Therefore, burnout prevention should target specific lifestyle and relaxation improvement strategies.
Highlights
The aim of this study was to estimate the association of burnout level with lifestyle and relaxation among dentists in Lithuania
Professional burnout is a multifaceted psychological syndrome characterized by varying degrees of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and low sense of personal accomplishment (PA) [1]
The present study aimed to estimate the association of burnout level with different lifestyle and relaxation variables among dentists in Lithuania
Summary
Systematic reviews of interventions primarily highlighted the individual strategies that included lifestyle change, relaxation training and task restructuring at work [3, 4, 9,10,11,12]. Ross et al (2017) in their research on professional burnout among nurses demonstrated that initiatives to increase weekly exercising and information provision on healthy lifestyles, nutrition, and adequate sleep have direct relevance to the exhaustion component of burnout [13]. Verhavert et al (2020) in their recent systematic literature review found nine out of ten experimental studies that showed the effectiveness of exercise programs in reducing burnout risk [5]. According to the review of the same authors, 14 out of 15 observational studies showed a negative association between physical activity and burnout risk. There are several studies that have examined the link of burnout with alcohol and tobacco use but their results were contradictory [18,19,20,21]
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