Preventing and reducing burnout globally: a six continent thematic assessment

Burnout affects millions of healthcare workers worldwide, from food service and nurses to physicians and leaders, impairing worklives and threatening health system stability.

An international collaborative, PREVAIL, was created to reduce burnout globally. Leaders from six continents shared structured insights into the local state of wellness and burnout contributors and mitigators, which were then subjected to a formal thematic (qualitative) analysis to identify common and region-specific themes.

Across continents, findings showed the global state of well-being was in danger, though threats varied by region: long shifts in Africa, heavy workloads in Asia, austerity-prone environments in Europe and financially driven care in North America. Vulnerable worker groups included women, nurses, and primary care. Mitigators included workload and schedule adjustments (Africa), shift policies with fair pay (Asia), leader support and regular well-being assessments (Australia), improved psychosocial services (Europe), organizational wellness support and career development (North America), and trainee support (South America).

A proposed "common pathway" framework explains shared drivers of poor workforce well-being and provides actionable steps for promoting compassionate, supportive environments worldwide.

Adopting a coordinated international approach may prevent devastating workforce shortages over the comingdecades. Burnout assessment and reduction in the global workforce is a high priority.