Factors underlying burnout among rural village physicians in Southwestern China

Primary healthcare doctors in China often experience problems with occupational burnout, a condition known to relate to high job stress and low wages. In China, many medical alliances have recently been established in rural areas, where village physicians work as healthcare gatekeepers. However, burnout in village physicians in the context of medical alliances remains underresearched.

This cross-sectional survey was conducted among 100 village physicians practicing at village clinics in Qiandongnan prefecture, Guizhou province, China. An online questionnaire was distributed to assess physicians' demographic characteristics and work situations. Burnout was measured using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (validated Chinese version). A multivariate linear model with stepwise procedure was used to estimate the effects of factors of interest on burnout, focusing particularly on actions within the medical alliance that involved respondents' clinics, such as training and support for village physicians provided by higher-level facilities.

The overall response rate was 79%. The mean burnout score was 38.09 (standard deviation, 4.55; range, 25-47). The multivariate analysis showed that fewer working years and too much farming work were significantly related to exacerbation of burnout. Greater medical services in the total workload and greater support from higher-level facilities were associated with burnout alleviation.

Close connections and interactions across medical alliance member facilities could facilitate reduction in burnout for village physicians practicing as primary care gatekeepers.