Development of burnout over time and the causal order of the three dimensions of burnout among male and female GPs. A three-wave panel study

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Yvonne Winants¹  Mascha Twellaar¹  Petra Verdonk²  Inge Houkes³ 

[1] Researchschool CAPHRI, Department of General Practice, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, Maastricht, 6200 MD, The Netherlands;Researchschool CAPHRI, Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands;Researchschool CAPHRI, Department of Social Medicine, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands;

关键词: Emotional Exhaustion;    Personal Accomplishment;    Maslach Burnout Inventory;    Causal Order;    Panel Group;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-11-240

 received in 2009-08-13, accepted in 2011-04-18,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundA good understanding of the aetiology and development of burnout facilitates its early recognition, prevention and treatment. Since the prevalence and onset of this health problem is thought to differ between men and women, sex must be taken into account. This study aims to assess the prevalence and development of burnout among General Practitioners (GPs). In this population the prevalence of burnout is high.MethodsWe performed a three-wave longitudinal study (2002, 2004, 2006) in a random sample of Dutch GPs. Data were collected by means of self-report questionnaires including the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Our final sample consisted of 212 GPs of which 128 were male. Data were analyzed by means of SPSS and LISREL.ResultsResults indicate that about 20% of the GPs is clinically burned out (but still working). For both sexes, burnout decreased after the first wave, but increased again after the second wave. The prevalence of depersonalization is higher among men. With regard to the process of burnout we found that for men burnout is triggered by depersonalization and by emotional exhaustion for women.ConclusionsAs regards the developmental process of burnout, we found evidence for the fact that the aetiological process of burnout, that is the causal order of the three burnout dimensions, differs between men and women. These sex differences should be taken into account in vocational training and policy development, especially since general practice is feminizing rapidly.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Houkes et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011