Teaching health-care providers coping: results of a two-year study

This study examined coping strategies and occupational burnout in a sample of 118 health-care providers. Subjects who participated in a 6-week program designed to improve coping reported significant short-term decreases in emotional exhaustion and lack of personal accomplishment, two dimensions of burnout. Subjects who received 1-hr coping "refresher" sessions at 5, 11, and 17 months showed consistent decreases in burnout throughout the 2-year period. However, those who did not receive the refresher sessions following the 6-week course showed only temporary improvement. Results indicate that health-care providers can be taught to employ adaptive coping strategies that improve levels of burnout, but long-term changes are achieved only through long-term coping training.