Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and burnout severity in French residents: A national study

Abstract

Background and objectivesWe measured the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and burnout of French residents. MethodsResidents completed a questionnaire assessing their personal life, work, social relationships, mental health, burden and psychological impact of the pandemic. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) allowed to identify 5 classes of burnout of increasing severity: burnout free, intermediate, 1, 2 or 3 dimensions severely impacted. Variables significantly linked with burnout, defined as having a high impact on at least one of the 3 dimensions of the MBI, were entered into a logistic regression. ResultsThere were 1050 responses. Mean age was 27±2 years. Since the start of the pandemic, only one resident in four said they were in their normal state of mind, more than half felt tired and one third anxious and/or stressed and/or depressed. The total burnout rate was 55%. There was a strong link between the severity of the burnout syndrome and the impact of the pandemic. 7 factors were independently linked to burnout: number of monthly calls (p<0.001), psychiatric history (p<0.001), interpersonal conflicts (p=0.002), desire to quit the specialty (p=0.002), fatigue (p=0.004), job satisfaction (p=0.004), and depression (p=0.05). ConclusionCaring for Covid positive patients was not the most important cause of burnout, but there was a strong relationship between burnout severity and psychological impact of the pandemic.