Physician burnout in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: prevalence and associated factors among resident doctors and consultants in Delta State, Nigeria

Background Residents Doctors (RDs) and consultants carry out the most specialised medical care. The strain of their job predisposes them to the three domains of burnout: Emotional Exhaustion (EE), Depersonalisation (DP), and diminished Personal Accomplishment (PA). Globally, this public health crisis has worsened with the overwhelming effect of COVID-19 on health systems. Aim This study assessed the prevalence and associated factors of burnout among RDs and Consultants in tertiary hospitals in Delta State, Nigeria during the pandemic.

A cross-sectional design was employed. Previously validated instruments were used to collect data via an online survey. The questionnaire was sent to physicians selected by multistage sampling. The proportion of participants with a high grade in each of the domains of burnout was obtained. Stepwise analyses from bivariate to multivariate were done to obtain adjusted odds ratios.

The prevalence of high-grade burnout in EE, DP, and PA was 35.1%, 13.2%, and 33.3% respectively. Relative to those ≤ 30 years, the age group 41 – 50 years had less likelihood of high EE (AOR 0.050; 95% CI 0.004 – 0.651). Other independent predictors of high EE were manageable workload (AOR 0.094; 95% CI 0.027 – 0.328), reward for work (AOR 0.427; 95% CI 0.205 – 0.892), and good leadership (AOR 0.525; 95% CI 0.113 – 0.929).

and Contribution This study suggests that the determinants of burnout among RDs and consultants are mainly contextual factors in the work setting. Promoting an institutional culture of leadership, a manageable workload, and appropriate rewards could help control physician burnout. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funding Statement None Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: Ethical clearance was obtained from the Health Research Ethics Committee of Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, nigeria (Approval Number HREC/PAN/2021/037/0426). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Data Availability Will be provided as before publication