Oprinca-Muja Lilioara-Alexandra, Mohor Cosmin-Ioan, Oprinca George-Călin, Cardoș Roxana, Domnariu Carmen-Daniela, Cristian Adrian-Nicolae, Băcilă Ciprian, Fleacă Sorin-Radu, Cristian Alina, Morar Silviu
Faculty of Medicine, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, 550169, Romania.
Department of Clinical Psychology, Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj Napoca, Cluj- Napoca, 400347, Romania.
Int J Legal Med. 2025 May;139(3):1223-1237. doi: 10.1007/s00414-024-03398-7. Epub 2025 Jan 10.
The burnout phenomenon is a subject of considerable interest due to its impact on both employee well-being and scientific inquiry. Workplace factors, both intrinsic and extrinsic, play a pivotal role in its development, often leading to job dissatisfaction and heightened burnout risk. Chronic stress and burnout induce significant dysregulation in the autonomic nervous system and hormonal pathways, alongside structural brain changes. This paper presents a preliminary review of the literature on burnout syndrome among forensic science workers, focusing on the prevalence of this phenomenon and its triggers. This review aims to consolidate existing research on burnout among forensic medicine workers, highlight significant findings, and encourage further studies. Symptoms range from demoralization to somatic complaints. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was the main tool in assessing burnout levels alongside measures of occupational stress, vicarious trauma and posttraumatic stress syndrome. Forensic medicine workers face unique stressors, with notable impacts on burnout levels. These workers experience challenges such as workplace conflicts and exposure to traumatic cases, leading to moderate or high burnout levels, particularly, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization or low personal accomplishment. Despite the prevalence of burnout, many forensic medicine workers lack access to support networks and perceive a disregard for their well-being from supervisors. There is a pressing need for further research to understand the biological mechanisms, susceptibility factors, and discover diagnostic markers of burnout syndrome, with the goal of its recognition as a psychiatric disorder in diagnostic manuals like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
职业倦怠现象因其对员工福祉和科学研究的影响而备受关注。工作场所的内在和外在因素在其发展过程中起着关键作用，常常导致工作不满和职业倦怠风险增加。慢性压力和职业倦怠会导致自主神经系统和激素途径出现显著失调，同时伴有大脑结构变化。本文对法医学工作者职业倦怠综合征的文献进行了初步综述，重点关注这一现象的普遍性及其触发因素。本综述旨在整合现有关于法医学工作者职业倦怠的研究，突出重要发现，并鼓励进一步的研究。症状从士气低落到躯体不适不等。马氏职业倦怠量表（MBI）是评估职业倦怠水平的主要工具，同时还包括职业压力、替代性创伤和创伤后应激综合征的测量。法医学工作者面临着独特的压力源，对职业倦怠水平有显著影响。这些工作者经历诸如工作场所冲突和接触创伤性案件等挑战，导致中度或高度职业倦怠，尤其是情感耗竭、去个性化或个人成就感低落。尽管职业倦怠普遍存在，但许多法医学工作者缺乏支持网络，并且感觉上级忽视他们的福祉。迫切需要进一步研究以了解职业倦怠综合征的生物学机制、易感因素，并发现诊断标志物，目标是在《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》等诊断手册中将其确认为一种精神障碍。
