Sources of stress that correlate to level of burnout among Swedish physicians.

Abstract: Theory: Burnout has become a popular research field with lots of studies being done within the area. Internationally, many studies on physician burnout have been made and they show that physicians have a high level of burnout. These studies as well as other studies within stress research have shown that there are many different factors that can lead to stress and burnout. However, very little research has been done to disclose the sources of stress that leads to burnout for Swedish physicians. Research question: Which sources of stress can be linked to burnout levels among Swedish physicians? Method: A web-based survey in two parts, was sent by e -mail with a few weeks interval to the physicians in Skåne and Norrbotten. The first part contained questions about background factors and the possible sources of stress. The second part contained questions about burnout and some general health questions. The burnout questions used in this survey came from the instrument Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. 63 persons answered both parts of the survey. Conclusion: The sources of stress that showed significant correlations with burnout among the respondents were, “Demands”, “Environment factors”, “Work organization”, “Support”, “Harassment”, “Technical problems”, “Accessible”, “Autonomy”, “Wishing to have the same profession in the future”, “Values about management”, “Values about myself in work”. These are all highly probable to contribute to burnout among this sample of Swedish physicians. However, to prove that these sources of stress in fact leads to burnout among Swedish physicians needs longitudinal studies with larger sample size.