Prevalence of burnout syndrome in intensivist doctors in five Brazilian capitals

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of burnout in intensivist doctors working in adult, pediatric and neonatal intensive care units in five Brazilian capitals. METHODS: Descriptive epidemiological study with a random sample stratified by conglomerate with 180 intensivist doctors from five capitals representing the Brazilian geographic regions: Porto Alegre (RS), Sao Paulo (SP), Salvador (BA), Goiania (GO) and Belem (PA). A self-administered questionnaire examining sociodemographic data and the level of burnout was evaluated through the Maslach Burnout Inventory. RESULTS: A total of 180 doctors were evaluated, of which 54.4% were female. The average age was 39 ± 8.1 years, 63.4% had specialization as the highest degree, 55.7% had up to 10 years of work experience in an intensive care unit, and 46.1% had the title intensive care specialist. Most (50.3%) had weekly workloads between 49 and 72 hours, and the most frequent employee type was salaried. High levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and inefficacy were found (50.6%, 26.1% and 15.0%, respectively). The prevalence of burnout was 61.7% when considering a high level in at least one dimension and 5% with a high level in three dimensions simultaneously. CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of burnout syndrome among intensivist doctors was observed. Strategies for the promotion and protection of health in these workers must be discussed and implemented in hospitals.