Comparative Analysis of Radiology Trainee Burnout Using the Maslach Burnout Inventory and Oldenburg Burnout Inventory

Burnout is an individualized response to imbalances between job demands and resources that has predominantly been evaluated with the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). There are other instruments not validated among healthcare providers that may be comparable to the MBI. Utilizing alternative measurements can allow researchers to assess wellness with a larger array of questions.

We explored differences between the MBI- Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel (MBI-HSS [MP]) and Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) in evaluating emotional exhaustion (EE)/exhaustion and depersonalization (DP)/disengagement.

We administered the MBI-HSS (MP) and OLBI to United States (US) radiology trainees during three,1-month intervals in April 2018, October 2018, and April 2019. Student's T-tests or ANOVA was used to evaluate differences between demographic groups and burnout scores in the MBI-HSS (MP) and OBLI. Non-inferiority analysis was completed to evaluate if the OBLI was not inferior to the MBI-HSS (MP) in how its subscales measure exhaustion and disengagement. The MBI-HSS (MP) subtotals for EE and DP were compared with the OLBI scores for exhaustion and disengagement using two-tailed paired T-tests for each trainee.

Of 2823 trainees emailed, 770 (27.3%) responded. The mean EE Maslach score was 21/54, and the mean DP Maslach score was 8/30. The average OBLI exhaustion and disengagement score was 2.38 and 2.22, respectively. Comparative analysis of completed MBI-HSS (MP) and OLBI subscales yielded no significant difference between the EE/exhaustion (t(496)=1.038; p=0.30) or DP/disengagement (t(498)=0.084; p=0.933) subscales.

Our national study of radiology trainees demonstrated that the OLBI was not inferior in assessing exhaustion and disengagement to the EE and DP subscales of the MBI-HSS (MP).