Burnout among early-career oncology professionals and the risk factors

Health care professionals caring for cancer patients have a considerable risk of developing burnout. However, as burnout has been rarely investigated among early-career oncology professionals. This study aims to investigate the presence of and risk factors linked to burnout in early-career oncology professionals.

A cross-sectional, hospital-based survey was conducted. A web link for the survey was sent to all staff of Peking University Cancer Hospital. Measures included the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Effort-Reward Inventory (ERI), and Big Five Personality Scale along with a questionnaire used to collect demographic, occupational, and social variables.

In total, 862 (71%) clinical health professionals completed the questionnaire, including 290 (35%) early-career professionals with work experiences as oncology professionals within 5 years. One hundred fourteen (39%) of them reported burnout in at least one domain. Lower scores on agreeableness (odds ratio [OR] = 0.77, P = 0.050) and neuroticism (OR = 0.69, P = 0.007) and high ERI ratio (OR = 103.67, P < 0.001) were associated with emotional exhaustion; lower scores on agreeableness (OR = 0.64, P < 0.001) and neuroticism (OR = 0.69, P = 0.007) and high ERI ratio (OR = 103.67, P < 0.001) were associated with depersonalization.

Chinese early-career oncology professionals experience a high risk of burnout. The early-career professionals with lower agreeableness and higher neuroticism in personality may have a higher risk of burnout. Imbalance between work efforts and work rewards is another significant risk factor of burnout.