Burnout among Catalan general practitioners. A repeated cross-sectional study, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant impact on healthcare workers' mental health and burnout, which continues after the pandemic.

To assess the levels of burnout in general practitioners (GP) in Catalonia at three different times.

Cross-sectional study involving members of the GPs' Catalan Society (n = 4700). A self-administered survey was sent via institutional email in June-July 2021 (T1), in March-April 2022 (T2), and in May-June 2023 (T3). Probable burnout was assessed through Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) test, with three independent dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and personal achievement. A descriptive analysis was performed, as well as a comparison between T1, T2, and T3 results.

500 GPs responded in T1, 454 in T2, and 386 in T3. Samples were similar in demographic variables. Regarding burnout dimensions, the level of emotional exhaustion was 67.5% in T1, with a statistically significant decrease in T2 and T3 (56.4 and 58.1%, respectively, p = 0.001); levels of depersonalisation were 42.7% in T1, 37.0% in T2 and 36.7% in T3 (p = 0.091); levels of personal achievement were 29.9% in T1, 30.4% in T2 and 24.2% in T3 (p = 0.086).  Starting at high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, the prevalence decreased significantly over time in two groups: women and GPs who worked <10 years at the same workplace.

Catalan GPs experienced significant burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic with emotional exhaustion being particularly high. Although the prevalence of burnout decreased slightly over time, over half of the participants consistently reported high levels of emotional exhaustion.