The prevalence of burnout, risk factors and job-related stressors in gastroenterologists: a systematic review.

Ong, John; Swift, Carla; Bath, Michael; Ong, Sharon; Lim, Wanyen; Al-Naeeb, Yasseen; Shankar, Arun; Dan, Yock Young

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Burnout is an important occupational hazard and the scale of the problem within gastroenterology remains poorly understood. The primary objective of this study was to understand the prevalence of burnout in gastroenterology and ascertain if there was a common prevalence within the field. The secondary objective was to identify factors and job-related stressors that commonly contribute to burnout in gastroenterologists. METHODS Systematic searches were conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane and PsycINFO by two reviewers independently for articles published to 1 September 2020. The primary outcome measure was the reported prevalence of burnout in gastroenterologists. The secondary outcome measures were (i) the prevalence of non-somatic burnout symptoms (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment) and (ii) the frequency of risk factors and stressors reported in studies. Data were presented and limited meta-analyses discussed. RESULTS Data were extracted from 11 studies. 54.5% (6/11) of these studies reported the prevalence of burnout in gastroenterologists; this ranged from 18.3% to 64.4%. Similar to burnout prevalence, burnout symptoms showed geographical variation and were common in gastroenterologists (up to 63.9%). Factors associated with work volume, age, and female gender were the three most frequently reported risk factors for increased levels of stress and burnout in 72.7% (8/11), 54.5% (6/11), and 45.5% (5/11) of studies respectively. Significant methodological and clinical heterogeneity was observed. CONCLUSIONS Burnout and its non-somatic symptoms are common in gastroenterologists but the syndrome is understudied within the field. Further research and good quality data are needed to help address the problem.