Abstract
BackgroundLittle information exists on work and stress related health of medical doctors in non-EU countries. Filling this knowledge gap is needed to uncover the needs of this target population and to provide information on comparability of health related phenomena such as burnout across countries. This study examined work related characteristics, work-home and home-work interference and burnout among Serbian primary healthcare physicians (PHPs) and compared burnout levels with other medical doctors in EU countries.MethodsData were collected via surveys which contained Maslach Burnout Inventory and other validated instruments measuring work and home related characteristics. The sample consisted of 373 PHPs working in 12 primary healthcare centres. Data were analysed using t-tests and Chi square tests.ResultsNo gender differences were detected on mean scores of variables among Serbian physicians, who experience high levels of personal accomplishment, workload, job control and social support, medium to high levels of emotional exhaustion, medium levels of depersonalisation and work-home interference, and low levels of home-work interference. There were more women than men who experienced low job control and high depersonalisation. Serbian physicians experienced significantly higher emotional exhaustion and lower depersonalisation than physicians in some other European countries.ConclusionsTo diminish excessive workload, the number of physicians working in primary healthcare centres in Serbia should be increased. Considering that differences between countries were detected on all burnout subcomponents, work-related interventions for employees should be country specific. The role of gender needs to be closely examined in future studies as well.
Highlights
Little information exists on work and stress related health of medical doctors in non-EU countries
Demands are examined through workload, childcare and household duties, work-home and home-work interference, while resources are explored through variables of job control, social support and favourable work content
We focus on gender differences in the prevalence of work characteristics, work-home and home-work interference and burnout among Serbian physicians working in primary healthcare centres (PHC), and compare burnout findings with other international results
Summary
Little information exists on work and stress related health of medical doctors in non-EU countries. This study examined work related characteristics, work-home and home-work interference and burnout among Serbian primary healthcare physicians (PHPs) and compared burnout levels with other medical doctors in EU countries. Scarce knowledge exists with regards to expression of these variables in different cultural settings One such underexplored case example is physician burnout in Serbia. Lešić and colleagues [6] acknowledge this lack of research and call for studies in the Serbian cultural context that would look into the work-family balance In light of this knowledge gap and taking into consideration that burnout is one very prominent example of stress related problems of which physicians are at risk [7], the present study set out to explore work characteristics, work family interference and burnout among Serbian primary healthcare physicians (PHPs), paying attention to gender and cross cultural differences
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