Job burnout and correlated factors of three-tiered public health workers: A cross-sectional study in China.

Abstract

This study aimed to reveal burnout levels and its potential influencing factors among three-tiered public health workers in China. A total of 1,328 public health workers from cities, counties and townships in Henan and Hubei provinces participated. Cumulative logistic regressions were used to determine job burnout predictors. Township workers (β=0.276, p=.046) showed higher levels of emotional exhaustion (EE) than city workers. Municipal workers showed higher levels of depersonalisation (DP) (β=-0.439, p=.004) and lack of personal accomplishment (LPA) (β=-0.343, p=.005) than township workers. Compared with those who had better results, township workers with average levels of interpersonal relationships (β=0.703, p=.014) exhibited higher EE degrees. Municipal (β=1.050, p<.001) and county (β=1.359, p<.001) workers with moderate training satisfaction had higher levels of burnout than those with a high degree of training satisfaction. Municipal (β=3.933, p<.001) and county (β=1.218, p=.018) workers earning 2,000 RMB and below every month were more likely to have higher burnout levels than those earning 4,001 RMB and above. Township respondents exhibited high EE levels, given the low-level education of their services' target audience. Similarly affected by interpersonal relationships, township workers require interpersonal and emotional intervention programmes. City respondents showed a high level of DP and LPA, which was attributed to considerable differences between public health workers and medical workers in cities. Hence, apart from narrowing the reward gap between clinicians and public health workers, improving public health workers' social cognition and status by various channels was found necessary. The burnout of municipal and county respondents were influenced by income and training. Improving the role of income as incentive and reforming trainings programmes would be necessary.