Could breaks reduce general practitioner burnout and improve safety? A daily diary study

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Primary Care Medicine
• Psychology

Background:

• General Practitioners (GPs) face record-high burnout rates, exceeding many other medical specialties.
• Organizational interventions show promise for reducing burnout, yet research in primary care settings remains limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between taking breaks (with or without social interaction) and burnout levels in GPs.
• To examine the relationship between breaks and GPs' perceptions of patient safety.

Main Methods:

• A quantitative daily diary study design was employed with UK General Practitioner (GP) practices.
• Participants completed baseline questionnaires and daily diaries over one week, recording break habits, social interactions, burnout, affect, and patient safety perceptions.
• Hierarchical linear modeling analyzed same-day and next-day associations.

Main Results:

• Taking any break correlated with reduced daily disengagement and next-day exhaustion.
• Breaks with positive social interaction were linked to lower same-day burnout, negative affect, and higher positive affect.
• Positive social breaks also improved same-day and next-day patient safety perceptions and reduced next-day exhaustion.

Conclusions:

• Implementing daily team or practice breaks that facilitate social interaction may effectively mitigate GP burnout.
• Encouraging social breaks can enhance perceived patient safety within primary care environments.