Job Burnout, Mental Health, And Social Support Among General Hospital Physicians

Background:According to a study report named 《The survey of China's "job burnout index"》online, which demonstrated: approximate 70% informants had job burnout , high burnout emerged in 13% of them. The prevalent phenomenon of job burnout all over the world has swept over our country. There is a growing awareness within medicine that physicians are at high risk for burnout, which can't be neglect for its serious effects to health professionals and their patients even to our social. So it has been the important issue to find the causation of physician burnout and to seek means that can get over it. The job burnout study of health professionals is abundant abroad. Whereas it was just beginning in our country, and the clinical studies are very few. This survey is supposed to accumulate experience on the study of health profession's job burnout in domestic,to realize the characteristics of which through the study of general hospital physicians'burnout and interrelated factors. So that we can find the implications for effective interventions in the future. Objective: The purpose of this study was to measure the prevalence of job burnout and explored its interrelated factors among physicians who worked in general hospital. Methods:Structured questionnaires including self-made questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) ,General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12),Social Support Assessment Inventory were sent to physicians worked in a general hospital. Data were coded and analyzed with factor analyses, t test, Pearson's correlation, ANOVA and stepwise linear regression when appropriate, and the Maslach's north American medical professionals norm as control in MBI. Results: 1. The effective response rate was 78.4%. The respondents had lower score for emotional exhaustion and professional accomplishment, higher score for depersonalization/cynicism compared with Maslach's North American medical professionals norm(P<0.01). 46.1% had a high score for emotional exhaustion or depersonalization/cynicism(moderate degree of burnout); and 13.8% had scores in the range of burnout in all three scales(high degree of burnout). The result indicated that the prevalence of job burnout in physicians worked in general hospital was high. 2. There were no significant differences in demographic characteristics factors of sex,department,degree or marriage with regard to job burnout. On the contrary , there were significant difference among age,the title of a technical post ,work years,somatic health and hurtful habits of the physicians. 3. Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were positively correlated with mental health; in addition, both were negatively correlated with three dimensions of social support. Personal accomplishment was negatively correlated with mental health, and it was positively correlated with three dimensions of social support. 4. The result of multiple step regression showed :somatic health have an influence on physician's emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment; On the other hand, work years affected depersonalization and personal accomplishment of that. Conclusions: 1. There were high job burnout and bad mental health levels in the physicians who worked in general hospital. 2. It is showed in the survey that the issue influencing physician burnout in demographic characteristics factors including: years old, the title of a technical post, work years, degree, somatic health and hurtful habits of the physicians. 3. The experience of job burnout can be alleviated through strong social support. 4. The Somatic health and work years may have some influence on physician's job burnout.