Exploring the impact of rural health system factors on physician burnout: a mixed-methods study in Northern Canada
Abstract Background Burnout among physicians is a consequence of chronic occupational stresses and emotionally intense work demands. However, much of the evidence exploring burnout is derived from urban settings and may not reflect the work and social contexts of physicians in Indigenous communities...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:64caffdb13c54eb484d0da3e6f683e93 2023-05-15T17:46:45+02:00 Exploring the impact of rural health system factors on physician burnout: a mixed-methods study in Northern Canada Nathaniel Hansen Kennedy Jensen Ian MacNiven Nathaniel Pollock Thomsen D’Hont Susan Chatwood 2021-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06899-y https://doaj.org/article/64caffdb13c54eb484d0da3e6f683e93 EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06899-y https://doaj.org/toc/1472-6963 doi:10.1186/s12913-021-06899-y 1472-6963 https://doaj.org/article/64caffdb13c54eb484d0da3e6f683e93 BMC Health Services Research, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021) Rural healthcare Indigenous health Physician burnout Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06899-y 2022-12-31T04:33:49Z Abstract Background Burnout among physicians is a consequence of chronic occupational stresses and emotionally intense work demands. However, much of the evidence exploring burnout is derived from urban settings and may not reflect the work and social contexts of physicians in Indigenous communities or in rural and resource-constrained areas. We sought to characterize health system factors that influence burnout among physicians practicing in the three northern territories of Canada. Methods We conducted a mixed-methods study that included an online survey and qualitative interviews with physicians practicing in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, or Yukon in 2019. The survey adapted content from the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results were analyzed with logistic regression to assess the association between health system factors and burnout. We conducted in-depth interviews with 14 physicians. Qualitative data was coded and analyzed for themes using the ATLAS.ti software. Results Thirty-nine percent of survey respondents (n = 22/57) showed features associated with burnout. Factors associated with burnout included use of electronic medical records (β = − 0.7, p < .05), inadequate financial remuneration (β = − 1.0, p < .05), and cross-cultural issues (β = − 1.1, p < .05). Qualitative analysis further identified physician perceptions of lack of influence over health system policies, systemic failures in cultural safety, discontinuity of care, administrative burden, and physician turnover as important drivers of burnout. Conclusions Physicians practicing in northern regions in Canada experience stress and burnout related to health system factors and cross-cultural issues. The relationship between cross-cultural issues and burnout has not previously been reported. This work may have implications for physician wellbeing and workforce attrition in other resource-constrained or culturally diverse clinical settings. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northwest Territories Nunavut Yukon Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Nunavut Yukon Northwest Territories Canada BMC Health Services Research 21 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Rural healthcare Indigenous health Physician burnout Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Rural healthcare Indigenous health Physician burnout Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Nathaniel Hansen Kennedy Jensen Ian MacNiven Nathaniel Pollock Thomsen D’Hont Susan Chatwood Exploring the impact of rural health system factors on physician burnout: a mixed-methods study in Northern Canada |
topic_facet |
Rural healthcare Indigenous health Physician burnout Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Abstract Background Burnout among physicians is a consequence of chronic occupational stresses and emotionally intense work demands. However, much of the evidence exploring burnout is derived from urban settings and may not reflect the work and social contexts of physicians in Indigenous communities or in rural and resource-constrained areas. We sought to characterize health system factors that influence burnout among physicians practicing in the three northern territories of Canada. Methods We conducted a mixed-methods study that included an online survey and qualitative interviews with physicians practicing in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, or Yukon in 2019. The survey adapted content from the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results were analyzed with logistic regression to assess the association between health system factors and burnout. We conducted in-depth interviews with 14 physicians. Qualitative data was coded and analyzed for themes using the ATLAS.ti software. Results Thirty-nine percent of survey respondents (n = 22/57) showed features associated with burnout. Factors associated with burnout included use of electronic medical records (β = − 0.7, p < .05), inadequate financial remuneration (β = − 1.0, p < .05), and cross-cultural issues (β = − 1.1, p < .05). Qualitative analysis further identified physician perceptions of lack of influence over health system policies, systemic failures in cultural safety, discontinuity of care, administrative burden, and physician turnover as important drivers of burnout. Conclusions Physicians practicing in northern regions in Canada experience stress and burnout related to health system factors and cross-cultural issues. The relationship between cross-cultural issues and burnout has not previously been reported. This work may have implications for physician wellbeing and workforce attrition in other resource-constrained or culturally diverse clinical settings. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nathaniel Hansen Kennedy Jensen Ian MacNiven Nathaniel Pollock Thomsen D’Hont Susan Chatwood |
author_facet |
Nathaniel Hansen Kennedy Jensen Ian MacNiven Nathaniel Pollock Thomsen D’Hont Susan Chatwood |
author_sort |
Nathaniel Hansen |
title |
Exploring the impact of rural health system factors on physician burnout: a mixed-methods study in Northern Canada |
title_short |
Exploring the impact of rural health system factors on physician burnout: a mixed-methods study in Northern Canada |
title_full |
Exploring the impact of rural health system factors on physician burnout: a mixed-methods study in Northern Canada |
title_fullStr |
Exploring the impact of rural health system factors on physician burnout: a mixed-methods study in Northern Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Exploring the impact of rural health system factors on physician burnout: a mixed-methods study in Northern Canada |
title_sort |
exploring the impact of rural health system factors on physician burnout: a mixed-methods study in northern canada |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06899-y https://doaj.org/article/64caffdb13c54eb484d0da3e6f683e93 |
geographic |
Nunavut Yukon Northwest Territories Canada |
geographic_facet |
Nunavut Yukon Northwest Territories Canada |
genre |
Northwest Territories Nunavut Yukon |
genre_facet |
Northwest Territories Nunavut Yukon |
op_source |
BMC Health Services Research, Vol 21, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06899-y https://doaj.org/toc/1472-6963 doi:10.1186/s12913-021-06899-y 1472-6963 https://doaj.org/article/64caffdb13c54eb484d0da3e6f683e93 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06899-y |
container_title |
BMC Health Services Research |
container_volume |
21 |
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1 |
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1766150593479442432 |