Prevalence and Predictors of the Burnout Syndrome in Medical Students of Karachi, Pakistan
Open Access
- 11 June 2019
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Cureus
- Vol. 11 (6), e4879
- https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.4879
Abstract
Burnout is a psychophysiological syndrome, consisting of a triad of emotional and physical exhaustion, exhibition of impersonal attitude and loss of a sense of achievement for oneself. This study aimed to pinpoint its risk factors, measure its current prevalence in medical students of Karachi, Pakistan and accentuate the areas of focus to benefit the primary care-oriented community as a whole. This cross-sectional study included responses from 600 medical students in Karachi (third to final year). A self-administered questionnaire using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS), multi-dimensional mood state questionnaire and perceived stress scale was used, along with a section about burnout prevention assessment. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) and chi-square tests used to find significant associations. One-fifth (n=109, 18.2%) of our subjects were burned out. The syndrome was significantly observed in those who operated on insufficient sleep (p-value 0.028) and in those having anger management issues and non-dominating temperaments (p-value 0.05). Furthermore, it was statistically significant in those who gave up easily, in those who had no hobbies and had no time to exercise and pray (p-value <0.05). It was more prevalent in pupils of private medical colleges whereas two of its three constitutive factors, Emotional Exhaustion (p-value 0.03) and Personal Achievement (p-value <0.001) were significantly higher in pupils of public sector universities. The deleterious repercussions of burnout syndrome warrant the need for extensive efforts towards the propagation of its awareness.Keywords
This publication has 26 references indexed in Scilit:
- Aerobic exercise training and burnout: a pilot study with male participants suffering from burnoutBMC Research Notes, 2013
- Burnout in Medical Students: Examining the Prevalence and Associated FactorsSouthern Medical Journal, 2010
- Prevalence of burnout syndrome among medical residents: experience of a developing countryHeart, 2010
- Perceived Stress, Sources and Severity of Stress among medical undergraduates in a Pakistani Medical SchoolBMC Medical Education, 2010
- Psychological morbidity, sources of stress and coping strategies among undergraduate medical students of NepalBMC Medical Education, 2007
- Burnout and psychiatric morbidity among medical students entering clinical training: a three year prospective questionnaire and interview-based studyBMC Medical Education, 2007
- Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performanceSleep Medicine Reviews, 2006
- Stress and depression among medical students: a cross-sectional studyMedical Education, 2005
- Dose-response patterns for vibration-induced white fingerOccupational and Environmental Medicine, 2003
- Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of religion and spirituality: Implications for physical and mental health research.American Psychologist, 2003