Physician burnout in Nigeria: a multicentre, cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Medical Research
• Public Health
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Physicians are a high-risk group for burnout.
• Nigeria faces a critical physician shortage exacerbated by emigration.
• These factors create a high-risk environment for physician burnout in Nigeria.

Purpose of the Study:

• Determine the prevalence of physician burnout in Nigeria.
• Identify factors associated with burnout.
• Evaluate the perceived impact of burnout on patient safety.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study conducted in 2019 among Nigerian physicians.
• Utilized the Oldenburg burnout inventory and a 5-point Likert scale.
• Data analyzed using IBM SPSS, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.

Main Results:

• Burnout prevalence was 75.5% among 535 physicians.
• Physician age, professional grade, and years in practice correlated with burnout domains.
• 74.6% of physicians believed burnout impacts patient safety.

Conclusions:

• Physician burnout is a significant and widespread problem in Nigeria.
• High burnout rates have serious implications for patient safety and healthcare system performance.
• Public health policies must address physician burnout to improve healthcare outcomes.