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Prevalence and Predictors of Burnout Among Hospice and Palliative Care Clinicians in the U.S.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kamal, AH; Bull, JH; Wolf, SP; Swetz, KM; Shanafelt, TD; Ast, K; Kavalieratos, D; Sinclair, CT; Abernethy, AP
Published in: J Pain Symptom Manage
April 2016

CONTEXT: Many clinical disciplines report high rates of burnout, which lead to low quality of care. Palliative care clinicians routinely manage patients with significant suffering, aiming to improve quality of life. As a major role of palliative care clinicians involves educating patients and caregivers regarding identifying priorities and balancing stress, we wondered how clinician self-management of burnout matches against the emotionally exhaustive nature of the work. OBJECTIVES: We sought to understand the prevalence and predictors of burnout using a discipline-wide survey. METHODS: We asked American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine clinician members to complete an electronic survey querying demographic factors, job responsibilities, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. We performed univariate and multivariate regression analyses to identify predictors of high rates of burnout. RESULTS: We received 1357 responses (response rate 30%). Overall, we observed a burnout rate of 62%, with higher rates reported by nonphysician clinicians. Most burnout stemmed from emotional exhaustion, with depersonalization comprising a minor portion. Factors associated with higher rates of burnout include working in smaller organizations, working longer hours, being younger than 50 years, and working weekends. We did not observe different rates between palliative care clinicians and hospice clinicians. Higher rated self-management activities to mitigate burnout include participating in interpersonal relationships and taking vacations. CONCLUSIONS: Burnout is a major issue facing the palliative care clinician workforce. Strategies at the discipline-wide and individual levels are needed to sustain the delivery of responsive, available, high-quality palliative care for all patients with serious illness.

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Published In

J Pain Symptom Manage

DOI

EISSN

1873-6513

Publication Date

April 2016

Volume

51

Issue

4

Start / End Page

690 / 696

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • United States
  • Time Factors
  • Societies, Medical
  • Prognosis
  • Prevalence
  • Physicians
  • Palliative Care
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Kamal, A. H., Bull, J. H., Wolf, S. P., Swetz, K. M., Shanafelt, T. D., Ast, K., … Abernethy, A. P. (2016). Prevalence and Predictors of Burnout Among Hospice and Palliative Care Clinicians in the U.S. J Pain Symptom Manage, 51(4), 690–696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.10.020
Kamal, Arif H., Janet H. Bull, Steven P. Wolf, Keith M. Swetz, Tait D. Shanafelt, Katherine Ast, Dio Kavalieratos, Christian T. Sinclair, and Amy P. Abernethy. “Prevalence and Predictors of Burnout Among Hospice and Palliative Care Clinicians in the U.S.J Pain Symptom Manage 51, no. 4 (April 2016): 690–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.10.020.
Kamal AH, Bull JH, Wolf SP, Swetz KM, Shanafelt TD, Ast K, et al. Prevalence and Predictors of Burnout Among Hospice and Palliative Care Clinicians in the U.S. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2016 Apr;51(4):690–6.
Kamal, Arif H., et al. “Prevalence and Predictors of Burnout Among Hospice and Palliative Care Clinicians in the U.S.J Pain Symptom Manage, vol. 51, no. 4, Apr. 2016, pp. 690–96. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.10.020.
Kamal AH, Bull JH, Wolf SP, Swetz KM, Shanafelt TD, Ast K, Kavalieratos D, Sinclair CT, Abernethy AP. Prevalence and Predictors of Burnout Among Hospice and Palliative Care Clinicians in the U.S. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2016 Apr;51(4):690–696.
Journal cover image

Published In

J Pain Symptom Manage

DOI

EISSN

1873-6513

Publication Date

April 2016

Volume

51

Issue

4

Start / End Page

690 / 696

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • United States
  • Time Factors
  • Societies, Medical
  • Prognosis
  • Prevalence
  • Physicians
  • Palliative Care
  • Middle Aged
  • Male