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practice

Burnout in Australian paramedics

02 December 2018
Features
02 December 2018
Volume 8 · Issue 3

Abstract

Background:

Burnout has consistently been identified as an issue in health professionals, with paramedics in particular frequently noted to have high burnout rates.

Aims:

The current study aimed to describe the prevalence of total work burnout in Australian paramedics and of three subcategories: personal, work-related and patient-related burnout.

Methods:

This cross-sectional online survey presented the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) to a national convenience sample (n=893) over a 5-week period from April–May 2015. The primary outcome was prevalence of total burnout (%). Secondary outcomes were prevalence of subgroups of burnout and predictive factors.

Findings:

More than half (55.9%) of respondents were determined to have total burnout at the time of completing the survey; 43.4% had patient-related burnout; 62.7% had work-related burnout; and 69.1% had personal-related burnout. Females, metropolitan work location, and having worked for 15–19 years as a paramedic were all predictive of total burnout.

Conclusions:

The study showed high prevalence of total burnout among this sample of Australian paramedics.

Job burnout has been identified in many professions since its classification in the 1970s (Freudenberger, 1974). However, its prevalence in the health professions, and paramedicine in particular, has been consistently high (Hammer et al, 1986; Grigsby and McKnew, 1988; Murphy et al, 1994; Stassen et al, 2013).

Job burnout has variously been described as having components of ‘emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced personal accomplishment’ (Maslach et al, 2001), or ‘a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that results from long-term involvement in work situations that are emotionally demanding’ (Schaufeli and Greenglass, 2001).

These definitions highlight the multicomponent nature of the issue. Burnout is linked to poor job retention, poor patient care and decreased emotional and physical wellbeing (Grevin, 1996; Maslach et al, 2001; Nirel et al, 2008). It has also been linked to other mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety and negative physical outcomes. There is still a lack of clarity around the interconnectedness of these domains that are further obviated dependent upon the tool used to measure burnout (Shirom, 2005).

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Burnout
Paramedic
Mental health
Copenhagen Burnout Inventory
Australia