Abstract
(1) Background: The heavy workload and understaffed personnel of village doctors is a challenge to the rural healthcare system in China. Previous studies have documented the predictors of doctors’ burnout; however, little attention has been paid to village doctors. This study aims to investigate the prevalence and influential factors of burnout among village doctors. (2) Methods: Data was collected by a self-administered questionnaire from 1248 village doctors who had worked at rural clinics for more than a year. Burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) with three dimensions—emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced personal accomplishment (PA). A logistic regression model was applied to estimate the influential factors of burnout. (3) Results: The prevalence of overall burnout was 23.6%. Being male (OR = 0.58, 95%CI: 0.41–0.82), poor health status (OR = 0.80, 95%CI: 0.67–0.94), low income (OR = 0.62, 95%CI: 0.40–0.95), and a poor doctor–patient relationship (OR = 0.57, 95%CI: 0.48–0.67) were significantly related to burnout. Conclusion: Burnout is prevalent among Chinese village doctors. Policies such as increasing village doctors’ income and investing more resources in rural healthcare system should be carried out to mitigate and prevent burnout.
Highlights
Our results revealed a high prevalence of burnout among village doctors, and that burnout could be explained by the following variables: sex, self-rated health, income, and the doctor–patient relationship
The prevalence of burnout among village doctors in our study was slightly lower than the findings by O’Kelly and colleagues [39] on urologists in the UK (28.9% measured by high emotional exhaustion (EE) plus high DP or low personal accomplishment (PA)), as well as Li and colleagues [36] on Chinese anesthesiologists (69% measured by either high EE or high DP)
Gan and colleagues [23] showed that 2.46% of general practitioners in urban areas in Hubei province of China reported burnout, which was lower than the figure in our study
Summary
Burnout is a psychological syndrome experienced when people face an accumulation of emotional exhaustion and cynicism due to work-related stress [1]. It is characterized by three dimensions: (1) emotional exhaustion (EE)—an increased feeling of fatigue due to depleted emotional resources; (2) depersonalization (DP)—negative and cynical attitudes towards clients and partners; and (3) reduced personal accomplishment (PA)—a tendency to undervalue work-related competency and achievement [2]. Burnout in physicians results in a range of negative consequences: mental health problems including anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts [3,4,5,6], lower job satisfaction, a higher turnover intention [7,8,9,10], increased medical errors and reduced quality of healthcare [8,9,11,12]. Village doctors play an essential role in providing primary healthcare for a large number of rural residents in
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