Job burnout among primary healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional study in China

Front Public Health. 2023 Dec 6:11:1266864. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1266864. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Objective: This study evaluated job burnout among primary healthcare workers (PHCWs) in China during the COVID-19 pandemic, explored its influencing factors, and examined PHCWs' preferences for reducing job burnout.

Method: We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study in Heilongjiang, Sichuan, Anhui, Gansu, and Shandong Provinces. An electronic questionnaire survey was conducted through convenience sampling in communities from May to July 2022. We collected sociodemographic characteristics, job burnout level, job satisfaction, and preferred ways to reduce job burnout among PHCWs.

Results: The job burnout rate among PHCWs in China was 59.87% (937/1565). Scores for each dimension of job burnout were lower among PHCWs who had a better work environment (emotional exhaustion OR: 0.60; depersonalization OR: 0.73; personal accomplishment OR: 0.76) and higher professional pride (emotional exhaustion OR: 0.63; depersonalization OR: 0.70; personal accomplishment OR: 0.44). PHCWs with higher work intensity (emotional exhaustion OR: 2.37; depersonalization OR: 1.34; personal accomplishment OR: 1.19) had higher scores in all job burnout dimensions. Improving work environments and raising salaries were the preferred ways for PHCWs to reduce job burnout.

Conclusion: Strategies should be developed to improve job satisfaction among PHCWs, enhance their professional identity, and alleviate burnout to ensure the effective operation of the healthcare system, especially during periods of overwork.

Keywords: COVID-19; MBI scale; job burnout; occupational health; primary healthcare workers.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Burnout, Professional* / epidemiology
  • Burnout, Professional* / psychology
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • China / epidemiology
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Emotional Exhaustion
  • Health Personnel
  • Humans
  • Pandemics

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC2301604) and National Science and Technology Project on Development Assistance for Technology, Developing China-ASEAN Public Health Research and Development Collaborating Center (No. KY202101004). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.