South African Journal of Psychiatry (Jun 2023)

Predictors of burnout among resident doctors in a Nigerian teaching hospital

  • Mumeen O. Salihu,
  • Alfred B. Makanjuola,
  • Olatunji A. Abiodun,
  • Amudalat T. Kuranga

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v29i0.2017
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 29, no. 0
pp. e1 – e9

Abstract

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Background: Burnout is a psychological syndrome resulting from exposure to chronic work-related stress. There are, however, a few works of literature on burnout among trainee doctors in Nigeria. Aim: To determine the prevalence of burnout and its predictors among resident doctors across 16 medical specialties and/or subspecialties. Setting: The University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Ilorin, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 176 resident doctors between October 2020 and January 2021. The survey included the Proforma and Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel (MBI-HSS MP). Results: The mean age of participants was 35.10 (SD 4.07) years. The prevalence of burnout was 21.6% for high emotional exhaustion (EE), 13.6% for high depersonalization (DP), and 30.7% for low personal accomplishment (PA). Being a younger resident doctor aged 31–35 (OR = 3.715, 95% CI [1.270 – 10.871]) was the only significant predictor for the EE. Predictors of DP included the age group 31–35 years (OR = 7.143, 95% CI [2.297 – 22.216]), duty hours 50 hours per week (OR = 2.984, 95% CI [1.203 – 7.401]), and presence of work-related stress (OR = 3.701, 95% CI [1.315 – 10.421]). A good relationship with colleagues negatively predicted low PA (OR = 0.221, 95% CI [0.086 – 0.572]). Conclusion: High levels of burnout are prevalent among resident doctors, comparable to international studies. Therefore, the government and other relevant stakeholders must drive legislation and formulate policies toward addressing the work-related factors associated with burnout in the Nigerian healthcare industry. Contribution: This study highlighted the determinants of burnout among Nigerian resident doctors, which necessitates targeted interventions to address them.

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