Burnout among Lebanese Oncologists: Prevalence and Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Burnout syndrome (BOS) is defined as a work-related psychological state characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low sense of personal accomplishment. Despite the extensive data on physician burnout, studies assessing the prevalence of burnout among oncologists in the Middle East and especially Lebanon are lacking. Our main objective was to determine this prevalence as well as identify potential factors associated with the development of burnout. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists attending several Continuing Medical Education (CME) activities in Lebanon over the course of a three month period. Participants were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire composed of socio-demographic and work characteristics, as well as the Maslach Burnout Inventory- Human Service Survey (MBI-HSS). RESULTS: A total of 51 oncologists completed the survey. Medical oncologists constituted the majority (84.3%), followed by surgical oncologists (9.8%) and radiation oncologists (5.9%). Approximately 47.1% of our sample had a high burnout level in at least one of the domains. 33.3% of oncologists exhibited high emotional exhaustion (EE) scores, 19.6% demonstrated low personal accomplishment (PA) scores, and 13.7% displayed high depersonalization (DP) scores. There was no statistically significant association between overall burnout level and any of the demographic or work characteristics. However, age was significantly associated with EE (p=0.03), while DP scores were significantly associated with the number of patients seen daily (p=0.028). CONCLUSION: Burnout is common among cancer professionals in Lebanon. Future research is needed to explore the problem in depth and suggest effective preventive approaches.