Academic burnout and coping strategies in healthcare students: a scoping review

Burnout is a growing concern among healthcare professionals and students, as it increases the risks of dropping out of higher education, clinical errors and could also lead to maladaptive behaviours such as alcohol abuse. This scoping review aimed to identify all the available literature on effective interventions to address burnout in healthcare students. This scoping review was conducted according to the six-stage protocol by Arksey and O'Malley. Electronic database searches on several platforms, including PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, ERIC, PsycINFO, and Cochrane, for studies published after 2000. Studies were only included if they evaluated the effectiveness of an intervention in addressing burnout among healthcare students using a validated burnout measurement tool, both before and after the intervention. Analysis was carried out using the thematic analysis approach. Searches identified 3517 studies, of which 10 met the inclusion criteria. Three studies were randomised controlled trials, two were comparative cohort studies with an interventional and a control group, and in five studies, one cohort was assessed. Training in mindfulness, emotional intelligence and relaxation techniques significantly reduced burnout. Several interventions, including training in mindfulness and emotional intelligence, can be successfully implemented to reduce burnout in healthcare students. Long-term results are necessary to evaluate the sustainability of benefits associated with these interventions, and moreover, longitudinal studies must demonstrate advantages in dropout rates, employment status, and satisfaction with employment to establish long-term effectiveness in addressing burnout.