Prevalence of burnout syndrome among military physicians at a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

BACKGROUND

Burnout syndrome is a sociopsychological disorder which develops in response to emotional tension and occupational stress, and is triggered by continuous stressors to which workers are exposed.It comprises three domains: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment.

OBJECTIVES

To establish the prevalence of physical and emotional stress (burnout) among military physicians at Marcilio Dias Naval Hospital, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

METHODS

Cross-sectional, exploratory and descriptive study with quantitative approach.Data collection was performed from March through June 2016.Assessment instruments used were Maslach Burnout Inventory and a sociodemographic questionnaire.

RESULTS

Burnout was more prevalent among women (57.1%), the participants who lived with a partner (64.3%), with age under 50 years old (100.0%), income up to 15 times the equivalent of the minimum wage (78.6%), who practiced physical activity (57.1%) and no leisure activities (78.6%).Alcohol consumption and smoking behaved as significant risk factors.Prevalence was higher for the depersonalization domain (44.8%), followed by personal accomplishment (28.4%) and emotional exhaustion (6.6%).

CONCLUSION

The professionals at the analyzed military hospital exhibited considerable levels of burnout, especially in regard to domain depersonalization.We call the attention to the need to develop preventive programs against burnout, particularly targeting workers exposed to emotional exhaustion, to avoid the occurrence of illness.