Existing interventions insufficient in easing physician burnout

Several interventions for reducing physician burnout result in significant numerical improvements in some domains, but such improvements fall short of providing meaningful changes in clinical burnout, according to the results of a meta-analysis.

Using the databases of PubMed and Embase (through 6 January 2023) and reference lists, a team of investigators identified randomized studies assessing an intervention designed to reduce professional burnout among physicians and other healthcare personnel. They adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guidelines.

Data on study and participant characteristics, study outcomes, and study quality were abstracted. A random-effects model was also used to pool mean differences in burnout change (pre- and postintervention) between the intervention and control groups.

Thirty-eight studies met the eligibility criteria. Of these, 31 (81.6 percent) utilized the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaire to assess burnout.

In comparisons between the intervention and control arms, the mean difference in the emotional exhaustion component of the MBI was ‒1.11 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], ‒2.14 to ‒0.09; I2, 74.5 percent; 20 studies).

In the depersonalization component of the MBI, the mean difference was ‒0.32 (95 percent CI, ‒0.63 to ‒0.01; I2, 54.2 percent; 17 studies). Finally, the mean difference in the personal accomplishment component of the MBI was 1.11 (95 percent CI, ‒0.21 to 2.43; I2, 94.3 percent; 16 studies).

“[T]he limited follow-up time, biased assessments, and heterogeneity in intervention efficacy suggest that a more nuanced understanding of the causes of burnout is needed to develop more effective interventions,” the investigators said.