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A national cross-sectional survey and interviews exploring the relationship between well-being and burnout in doctors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2021

John Jenkins ,
Emma Boxley  and
Gemma Simons
John Jenkins*
Affiliation:
University of Southampton
Emma Boxley
Affiliation:
University of Southampton
Gemma Simons
Affiliation:
Centre for Workforce Wellbeing, University of southampton
*
*corresponding author.
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Abstract

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Aims

Doctors’ mental health is a national concern – the General Medical Council, British Medical Association and Health Education England pledge to improve their well-being. Well-being has no common definition, instead pathogenic measures such as burnout are published as a demonstration of doctors’ wellbeing. Yet, the relationship between burnout and wel-being has not been explored.

Aim

to investigate the relationship between burnout and well-being.

Hypothesis

they are negatively associated, but not opposites.

Method

An online cross-sectional national survey was distributed to doctors of all grades and specialties via the Royal Colleges and doctor organisations. The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) measured burnout, and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) measured well-being. Correlation coefficients between total scores of these measures estimated the relationship. Additionally, semi-structured interviews explored personal definitions of wellbeing and its relationship with burnout. Thematic analysis was carried out.

Result

64 doctors completed the OLBI and WEMWBS. Comparing the total scores for the questionnaires with Spearman's rho indicates a moderate negative correlation (rs= –0.658, p = 0.00, n = 64). Total scores were made into binary variables, a Chi-square test showed that a low WEMWBS score (<40) and a very high risk OLBI score (≥2.85 exhaustion and ≥2.6 disengagement) were statistically significantly associated (X 2 (1, N = 64) = 4.232, p = 0.04). Three themes emerged from the 10 interviews conducted: the importance of networks/relationships outside work; scepticism towards the proposal of an NHS wellbeing check-in; and how participants do not strive to improve their wellbeing until its decline.

Conclusion

This research demonstrates that wellbeing and burnout have only a moderate negative correlation when using commonly employed measurement tools. Therefore, measures of burnout are not a surrogate for wellbeing. Further research could adopt a salutogenic approach by using the WEMWBS to monitor doctors’ wellbeing and could explore interventions to increase well-being, rather than waiting for its decline.

Type
Rapid-Fire Poster Presentations
Information
BJPsych Open , Volume 7 , Supplement S1: Abstracts of the RCPsych Virtual International Congress 2021, 21–24 June , June 2021 , pp. S32 - S33
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
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