Burnout in Chest Physicians after Health Care Reforms: A Cross-Sectional Study in Turkey

Özet

OBJECTIVES: The health reform has recently been one of the most important items on the agenda worldwide. The aim of this study is toinvestigate burnout syndrome in chest physicians and exhibit its connection with reform processes.MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this survey, the “Socio-demographic Data Form” and “Maslach Burnout Inventory” were used. BetweenSeptember and November 2016, chest physicians were reached with permissions by expertise associations via e-mail groups. A samplesize of 352 physicians was included in the study out of 2,349 chest physicians in Turkey.RESULTS: Among 352 physicians, 238 (67.60%) were women, and the mean age was 38.93 (±9.97). Higher burnout scores were determined in young physicians (aged ≤35), residents, those with low income, and those with ≥55 weekly working hours. The performancebased salary system was regarded as a problem by 84.7%, and 83.5% stated that they had not enough leisure time for themselves andtheir families. More than a half (55.7%) indicated that they would not choose the same specialty if they ever had a chance to chooseagain.CONCLUSION: We observed that most of chest physicians in Turkey experience burnout syndrome, which might be influenced by reforms in the health care system. The health system and working conditions should be dealt with immediately by health authorities andreformed in accordance with human dignity and rights to life.