Department of Anesthesia, Division of Pain Medicine, School of Medicine & Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Medical Center, University of Kansas, Kansas City, KS, USA.
Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2023 Aug;27(8):259-267. doi: 10.1007/s11916-023-01121-6. Epub 2023 Jul 3.
The study sought to assess the prevalence of physician burnout among interventional pain physicians in 2022.
Physician burnout is major psychosocial and occupational health issue. Prior to the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, over 60% of physicians reported emotional exhaustion and burnout. Physician burnout was reported to become more prevalent in multiple medical specialties during the COVID-19 pandemic. An 18-question survey was distributed electronically to all ASPN members (n = 7809) in the summer of 2022 to assess demographics, burnout characteristics (e.g., Have you felt burned out due to COVID?), and strategies to cope with burnout and stress (e.g., reached out for mental health assistance). Members were able to complete the survey once and were unable to make changes to their responses once submitted. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the prevalence and severity of physician burnout within the ASPN community. Chi-square tests were used to examine differences in burnout by provider characteristics (age, gender, years practicing, and practice type) with p-values less than 0.05 indicating statistical significance. There were 7809 ASPN members that received the survey email, 164 of those members completed the survey, a response rate of 2.1%. The majority of respondents were male (74.1%, n = 120), 94% were attending physicians (n = 152), and 26% (n = 43) have been in practice for twenty years or longer. Most respondents expressed having experienced burnout during the COVID pandemic (73.5%, n = 119), 21.6% of the sample reported reduced hours and responsibilities during the pandemic, and 6.2% of surveyed physicians quit or retired due to burnout. Nearly half of responders reported negative impacts to their family and social lives as well as personal physical and mental health. A variety of negative (e.g., changes in diet, smoking/vaping) and positive coping strategies (e.g., exercise and training, spiritual enrichment) were employed in response to stress and burnout; 33.5% felt they should or had reached out for mental health assistance and suicidal ideations were expressed in 6.2% due to burnout. A high percentage of interventional pain physicians continue to experience mental symptoms that may lead to risk for significant issues going forward. Our findings should be interpreted with caution based on the low response rate. Evaluation of burnout should be incorporated into annual assessments given issues of survey fatigue and low survey response rates. Interventions and strategies to address burnout are warranted.
本研究旨在评估 2022 年介入疼痛医师中医生倦怠的流行率。
医生倦怠是一个主要的社会心理和职业健康问题。在 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行之前，超过 60%的医生报告情绪疲惫和倦怠。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，报告称多个医学专业的医生倦怠更为普遍。2022 年夏天，向 ASPN 的所有成员（n=7809）发送了一份 18 个问题的电子调查，以评估人口统计学、倦怠特征（例如，您是否因 COVID 而感到倦怠？）以及应对倦怠和压力的策略（例如，寻求心理健康帮助）。成员只能完成一次调查，提交后无法更改回复。使用描述性统计数据评估 ASPN 社区内医生倦怠的流行率和严重程度。卡方检验用于检查倦怠与提供者特征（年龄、性别、从业年限和执业类型）之间的差异，p 值小于 0.05 表示具有统计学意义。有 7809 名 ASPN 成员收到了调查电子邮件，其中 164 名成员完成了调查，回复率为 2.1%。大多数受访者为男性（74.1%，n=120），94%为主治医生（n=152），26%（n=43）从业 20 年或以上。大多数受访者表示在 COVID 大流行期间经历过倦怠（73.5%，n=119），21.6%的样本报告在大流行期间减少了工作时间和责任，6.2%的受调查医生因倦怠而辞职或退休。近一半的应答者报告说，他们的家庭和社交生活以及个人身心健康受到了负面影响。各种消极（例如，饮食改变、吸烟/电子烟）和积极的应对策略（例如，锻炼和培训、精神充实）被用来应对压力和倦怠；33.5%的人认为他们应该或已经寻求心理健康帮助，由于倦怠，6.2%的人表示有自杀念头。相当一部分介入性疼痛医师继续经历可能导致未来出现重大问题的精神症状。由于低回应率，我们的研究结果应谨慎解释。鉴于调查疲劳和低调查回应率的问题，应将倦怠评估纳入年度评估中。有必要采取干预和策略来解决倦怠问题。
