Burnout syndrome among physicians working in primary health care centers in Kuwait

Objective: The aim of the study was to reveal extent of burnout problem among primary care physicians and the socio-demographic factors affecting its occurrence. Methods: The target population included all physicians working in these two health regions in Kuwait. Two hundred physicians working in the primary health care units in the selected regions agreed to participate in the study. A specifically designed questionnaire for this research was derived from Maslach Burnout Inventory (BMI). It included four domains, namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment, and involvement. In addition, socio-demographic and work characteristics of physicians were studied and their association with burnout domains was illustrated. Results: More than half the sample was females (56%), in the age group 30–49 (56.5%) and of non- Kuwait nationality (51%). Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization had lower percentage scores than the positive ones namely, personal accomplishment, and involvement. Physicians had a mean percent score of 37.1 + 29.0% on the emotional exhaustion domain, 21.0 + 22.9% on the depersonalization domain, 63.2 + 26.3% on the personal accomplishment domain, and 46.2 +29.9% on the involvement domain. The four domains of MBI were associated only with some of the studied socio-demographic and job characteristics of the studied physicians. Nationality, place of work, job and income had a significant association with emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment domains. Conclusion: Burnout syndrome is relatively common among Kuwaiti physicians working at the primary care level. The syndrome is more common among non-Kuwaiti physicians, general practitioners, and those with lower income. There is a need for training the physicians about how to cope with stress at work.