Incidence of professional stress and burnout syndrome in general physicians

Introduction: Professional stress and burnout syndrome are widely spread among health professionals. Objective: Examine the incidence of professional stress in general physicians (GPs) and the risk of burnout syndrome. Method: A cross-sectional study was performed from 30.-31.03.2019, in Belgrade and 17.-18.05.2019, in Backa Palanka. The questionnaire had three sections: participants' sociodemographic data, Freudenberger burnout scale, and a section about workplace stressors. Acquired data were statistically processed with the SSPS20 package. Statistical significance was defined for p<0.05 level. Results: The research included 455 GPs, of whom 84.8% were women; 49.2% were specialists in general practice, and 79.8% worked in the city area. The majority of GPs were over 55 years of age (31.9%), and 21-30 years of service (30.1%). The average length of service was 19.46 ±11.04 years. Moderate stress levels were found in 44.6% of the participants, a high level in 43.3%. The prevalence of stress, on the whole, was 93.6%. Moderate level of stress was more frequent in women (p=0,038), and specialists in general practice (GP specialists) (p=0,042). The most common stressors were: work overload, administrative tasks, and limited time for the patients` examinations. According to the Freudenberger burnout scale, 43.1% of the participants were very close to being burnt out, and 8.8% had the burnout syndrome. GPs 35 years and younger, and those with ≤ 10 years of service were rarely at risk for burnout sy (p=0.000), while GP specialists had a higher risk. The rise of the stress level leads to the rise of the burnout sy. Conclusion: The incidence of professional stress is very high among GPs, and the elevation of stress levels leads to more pronounced burnout syndrome.