Burnout amongst chiropractic faculty, practitioners, and trainees: a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Chiropractic Medicine
• Occupational Health
• Psychology

Background:

• Professional burnout is a growing concern across healthcare professions.
• Understanding burnout within the chiropractic field is essential for practitioner well-being and patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review summarizing existing literature on burnout in the chiropractic profession.
• To identify key factors contributing to and protecting against burnout in chiropractors.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted using terms related to chiropractic and professional burnout.
• Inclusion criteria focused on peer-reviewed publications addressing burnout within the chiropractic profession.
• The Preferred Reporting of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines were followed.

Main Results:

• Ten studies published between 2011 and 2024 met the inclusion criteria, primarily consisting of surveys.
• Chiropractic students reported higher burnout levels compared to the general population.
• Key burnout contributors included high workload, insurance mandates, and physical demands; longer practice duration and philosophy-based practice were protective factors.

Conclusions:

• The current body of research on chiropractic burnout is limited and may lack generalizability.
• Factors contributing to burnout in chiropractors are recognized, but further investigation is needed.
• Future research should aim to better understand the prevalence and specific causes of burnout in this profession.