Prevalence and factors associated with professional burnout in Polish oncologists-results of a nationwide survey

P Sobczuk; A Gawlik-Urban; D Sigorski; J Kiszka; M Osmola; K Machulska-Ciuraj; M Wilk; A Brodziak

doi:10.1016/j.esmoop.2023.102230

Prevalence and factors associated with professional burnout in Polish oncologists-results of a nationwide survey

ESMO Open. 2024 Feb;9(2):102230. doi: 10.1016/j.esmoop.2023.102230. Epub 2024 Jan 23.

Authors

P Sobczuk¹, A Gawlik-Urban², D Sigorski³, J Kiszka⁴, M Osmola⁵, K Machulska-Ciuraj⁶, M Wilk⁷, A Brodziak⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Soft Tissue/Bone Sarcoma and Melanoma, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Warsaw. Electronic address: pawel.sobczuk@nio.gov.pl.
² Clinical Oncology Department with Chemotherapy Subunit, Provincial Hospital Saint Luke, Tarnów; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Applied Sciences in Tarnów, Tarnów.
³ Department of Oncology, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn; Department of Oncology and Immuno-Oncology, Warmian-Masurian Cancer Center of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration's Hospital, Olsztyn.
⁴ Department of Clinical Oncology, Subcarpathian Cancer Center, Brzozów.
⁵ Department of Hematology, Oncology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw.
⁶ Department of Clinical Oncology and Chemotherapy, Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 4, Lublin.
⁷ Oncology Department, ECZ-Postgraduate Medical Center European Health Center, Otwock.
⁸ Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Warsaw; Laboratory of Centre for Preclinical Research, Department of Experimental and Clinical Physiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.

Abstract

Background: High rates of burnout are observed among health care professionals worldwide, which could have negative consequences on personal and organizational levels. We aimed to evaluate the burnout prevalence and factors associated with burnout among oncologists in Poland.

Materials and methods: An online survey was conducted using the validated Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) and additional work/lifestyle questions. Descriptive statistics, parametric and nonparametric tests, and multivariate logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with burnout.

Results: A total of 228 physicians participated in the survey, including 168 medical oncologists, 43 radiation oncologists, and 17 from other specialties. Data collected from 211 medical and radiation oncologists were included in the final analyses. Most participants were female (71.6%) and ≤40 years of age (70.1%). A self-reported feeling of burnout was present in 65.9% of participants. Based on the MBI-HSS, 74.9% showed evidence of burnout with burnout subdomains as follows: depersonalization 37.0%; emotional exhaustion 64.5%; low accomplishment 43.1%. There were no differences in burnout rates based on specialization (oncology/haematology-75.6%, radiotherapy-72.1%), career stage, gender, or age groups. Lack of work-life balance was the only significant factor associated with the risk of burnout in the logistic regression (relative risk 2.6, 95% confidence interval 1.3-5.4). Only 20.9% of physicians had access to psychological support in their workplace; however, 70.1% desired such support. Three main factors impacting burnout in cancer care workers were: bureaucracy and administrative duties overload, admissions of many patients, and poor work culture.

Conclusions: Burnout is common among medical and radiation oncologists in Poland. There is a high demand for psychological support and organizational changes in the workplace to reduce risk and mitigate the adverse effects of burnout among health care professionals.

Keywords: cancer care; oncologist; professional burnout; radiation oncologist.

MeSH terms

Burnout, Professional* / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Male
Oncologists* / psychology
Poland / epidemiology
Prevalence
Psychological Tests*
Self Report*

Supplementary concepts

Maslach Burnout Inventory