Prevalence and correlates of burn-out among Nigerian medical doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

• Published in: BMJ open Vol. 13; no. 11; p. e076673
• Main Authors: Pius, Ruth Eshikotse, Ajuluchukwu, Janet Ngozi, Roberts, Alero Ann
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England British Medical Journal Publishing Group 23.11.2023; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Publishing Group
• Subjects: Burnout; Burnout, Professional; Burnout, Professional - epidemiology; Consent; Consultants; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data analysis; Data collection; Departments; Female; Humans; Low income groups; Male; Medical personnel; Occupational and environmental medicine; Pandemics; Patient satisfaction; Physicians; Physiology; Prevalence; Professionals; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Sample size; SARS-CoV-2; Sociodemographics; Surveys and Questionnaires; Working hours; Workloads; Nigeria; United States > US; COVID-19; Burnout; Burnout, Professional; Physicians
• ISSN: 2044-6055; 2044-6055
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-076673

IntroductionPhysician burn-out was an issue before the pandemic. Medical personnel have faced several clinical and non-clinical challenges because of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, which predisposes them to burn-out. There is a paucity of studies that shed light on the level of burn-out and its association with work-related factors for Nigerian medical doctors. This study aims to examine the level of burn-out among Nigerian medical doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore possible associations between burn-out and sociodemographic, work-related and COVID-19-related factors.MethodologyA cross-sectional study was conducted among 251 medical doctors in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. A questionnaire was used to obtain sociodemographic history, work-associated factors, COVID-19-related parameters and burn-out history. Personal, work-related and patient-related burn-out were evaluated with the use of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory.ResultsThe number of doctors enrolled in this study was 251 with a median age of 34; 51.4% were males. The percentage of doctors who had personal, work-related and patient-related burn-out were 62.2%, 52.2 % and 27.5%, respectively. The univariate analysis revealed a correlation between burn-out scores and cadre, age, sex, years of experience, marital status, weekly work hours and number of calls. After multiple regression, female gender (p=0.012), those with less than 6 years of work experience (p=0.004) and those working for at least 71 hours in a week (p=0.0001) remained correlated with higher burn-out scores. Additionally, physicians who had a person with COVID-19 in their immediate environment had an independent correlation with higher work-related burn-out scores (p=0.043).ConclusionThe prevalence of burn-out is high among Nigerian doctors and is linked to some sociodemographic, work-related and COVID-19-related factors. Due to the adverse effects of burn-out on physician well-being and patient care, strategies need to be put in place to identify and mitigate burn-out among Nigerian physicians.