The prevalence of burnout and associated factors among anaesthesia providers : Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: Burnout is a common phenomenon among healthcare professionals and has significant negative impact on both employee wellbeing and patient safety. This scoping review aimed to provide a comprehensive review of the current literature on burnout among anaesthesia providers, focusing on prevalence, contributing factors, impact on patient safety, and potential solutions. Methods: Three electronic databases were searched to locate relevant literature, namely Scopus, Medline, and CINAHL. A total of 398 studies were identified through the search strategy, although only 18 articles met this review’s inclusion criteria. Result: 17 of the 18 studies included focused on the prevalence of burnout and its risk factors, while only one looked at interventions to reduce its prevalence. A few papers touched on recommended interventions to mitigate burnout and implications for patient safety. Factors contributing to burnout included age, gender, work experience, marital status, and organisational factors like staff shortages, working hours, workload, and support. Anaesthesia healthcare professionals' burnout negatively impacted work performance and patient safety. The review found individual and organisational interventions such as mindfulness-based programs, cognitive-behavioural training, small group discussions, self-care physical activity, working hour regulation, and creating career development opportunities for those with low academic qualifications. Conclusion: Overall, the prevalence of burnout among anaesthesia healthcare professionals is relatively high, and is influenced by individual and organisational factors. It was slightly higher after the COVID-19 pandemic. This calls for greater organisational attention to ameliorating the phenomenon of burnout, thereby improving employee wellbeing, which will benefit care quality and patient safety.