Stress and burnout syndrome in health-care providers treating dengue infection: A cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: Increased prevalence of dengue fever had led to increase stress in providing optimal care for patients. This has been identified as a potential factor that may lead to negative health effects on medical doctors. This study was designed to review the prevalence and associated factors of burnout syndrome (including depression, anxiety, and stress level) among clinicians in the setting of increasing cases of dengue in Malaysia.

METHODS: A cross-sectional, multi-centre study was carried out among doctors in contact with patients with dengue infection from four major hospitals in Malaysia in 2015 using Maslach Burnout Inventory and DASS-21 questionnaire.

RESULTS: A total of 313 respondents were included in this study with 15.9% of the respondents experiencing high burnout syndrome. Long working hours, depression, anxiety, and stress were significantly associated with high degree of burnout syndrome (p<0.05). However, number of dengue cases reviewed was not significantly associated with the degree of burnout syndrome. Depression and stress were among factors identified as the predictors for burnout syndrome.

CONCLUSION: High degree of burnout syndrome among clinicians with significant correlations with symptoms of depression and stress will require early identification to enable early measures to resolve, as well as prevent it. Future studies with more hospitals involvement should be conducted to establish the relationship between the degree of burnout syndrome and prevalence of dengue infection.