Contributors and potential solutions to professional burnout amongst dental surgeons of Islamabad: A mixed method...

To assess professional burnout among dentists in an urban setting of Islamabad using Maslach Burnout Inventory, alongside conducting their semi structured interviews to investigate the contributors and potential management strategies over a period of six months.

The observational, mixed method study was conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, from January to June 2024, and comprised fulltime faculty members from two other private dental teaching hospitals in the city having a minimum of three years of professional experience. Maslach Burnout Inventory, comprising emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment components, was shared online with the subjects. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews were conducted with those who were filtered to be burntout cases. Qualitative data was subjected to thematic analysis.

Of the 36 subjects, 8(22.2%) with age ranging 31-55 years were found to be burnout cases in two out of three categories; 6(75%) females and 2(25%) males. All the 8(100%) subjects were involved in both clinical and academic pursuits. Qualitative data led to the emergence of 8 major themes; excessive workload, weak employee employer relationship, lack of resources, lack of monetary benefits, lack of acknowledgement, disturbed work-life balance, administrative issues, and pressure to deliver.

Healthcare institutions should strive to provide a supportive and sustainable environment for professionals, and implement interventions that may enhance their wellbeing. This will ultimately improve work efficiency.