Prevalence and Factors Associated with Burnout Syndrome in Colombian Anesthesiologists

BACKGROUND: Burnout is characterized by the presence of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment, and manifests itself in difficulties in the handling of the psychological aspects of personal relationships with patients, by taking a negative attitude toward them. The objective was to evaluate the associated factors and describe the prevalence of burnout in Colombian anesthesiologists. METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study. The classification of burnout was carried out using two criteria: the first related to high emotional exhaustion, accompanied by either high depersonalization or low personal accomplishment; the second associated with high emotional exhaustion in conjunction with both high depersonalization and low personal accomplishment. The prevalence and the variables associated with the presence of Burnout were described according to each criterion. RESULTS: 19.2% of the respondents were categorized as having burnout according to the first criterion and 9.2% according to the second criterion. The results are consistent regardless of the criterion used to define burnout; the associated factors were the presence of depression, anxiety, the degree of satisfaction with the profession, more than 200 hours worked per month and being an at-risk drinker. Anxiety was found to be associated with increased risk of both criteria 1 and 2 burnout. CONCLUSIONS: In line with other studies, the prevalence of burnout among Colombian anesthesiologists varies depending on the burnout criteria. However, a strong correlation was noted with depression, anxiety, low satisfaction with professional career and high number of working hours per month.