Burnout among Catalan general practitioners. A repeated cross-sectional study, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Burnout; COVID-19; Maslach Burnout Inventory; cross-sectional studies; general practitioner

Síndrome d'esgotament professional; Metges/metgesses de família; Pandèmia de la COVID-19

Síndrome de desgaste profesional; Médicos de familia; Pandemia de la COVID-19

COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant impact on healthcare workers' mental health and burnout, which continues after the pandemic.

To assess the levels of burnout in general practitioners (GP) in Catalonia at three different times.

Cross-sectional study involving members of the GPs' Catalan Society (

500 GPs responded in T1, 454 in T2, and 386 in T3. Samples were similar in demographic variables. Regarding burnout dimensions, the level of emotional exhaustion was 67.5% in T1, with a statistically significant decrease in T2 and T3 (56.4 and 58.1%, respectively,

Catalan GPs experienced significant burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic with emotional exhaustion being particularly high. Although the prevalence of burnout decreased slightly over time, over half of the participants consistently reported high levels of emotional exhaustion.

The prevalence of burnout among GPs remains high even after the COVID-19 pandemic.Emotional exhaustion was the most affected dimension of burnout.Health managers and professional societies can use these findings to implement interventions to promote physicians’ well-being.

This work was supported by Catalan Society of Family and Community Medicine (CAMFIC) and the Institute for Research in Primary Care (IDIAP Jordi Gol).