Main risk factors for emotional burnout in healthcare workers

One of the complex and urgent problems in modern Russia is the preservation of the health of the working population, including medical professionals, and the prevention of professional burnout, which can lead to decreased productivity and professional longevity. Рurpose: Тo analyze the main risk factors for the formation of professional emotional burnout of medical workers, including doctors of multidisciplinary polyclinics in modern conditions. Materials and methods: Sanitary-statistical, socio-hygienic, sanitary-epidemiological, and mathematical-statistical methods were used. To assess the signs of professional emotional burnout (PEB) in polyclinic doctors, a questionnaire was conducted using a traditional method with a standardized questionnaire based on the MBI test (K. Maslach, S. Jackson, adapted by N. E. Vodopyanova). The study involved 173 surgical doctors from polyclinics in Volgograd. The observation groups were formed based on the doctors' work experience through interviews. The data of a special assessment of working conditions were used to characterize the hygienic factors of the working environment and the work process of doctors in multidisciplinary polyclinics. Results and discussion: The dynamics of the prevalence of PEV among medical workers for the period 1980–2026 was analyzed, which allowed to identify 3 peaks of the increase in the prevalence of PEV among doctors: 2017–2018, 2019–2020, 2023–2024. The prevalence of professional emotional burnout among doctors of the surgical profile of multidisciplinary polyclinics of the city of Volgograd was analyzed. The features of the manifestations of PEV in doctors with different work experience were revealed: less than 5 years, 5–10 years, 10–15 years, 15–25 years, more than 25 years. The determinants of the formation of PEV were considered, and a formalized model was formed. The main controllable factors of the formation of PEV in healthcare workers, including doctors of multidisciplinary polyclinics, were identified. Conclusion: A high prevalence of emotional burnout was identified among doctors of multidisciplinary polyclinics, which is largely determined by the intensity of the work process. A possible confirmation of the significance of this factor is the sharp increase in cases of PEC among doctors against the backdrop of active digital transformation of the healthcare system (2017–2018), work in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (2019–2020), and the modernization of primary healthcare (2023–2024). Special attention should be paid to doctors with up to 5 years and 20–25 years of experience when identifying PEC. Due to the ambiguity of the prevalence of PEB in different seniority groups, it is advisable to consider the entire complex of factors presented in the formalized model of determinants of professional emotional burnout of medical workers when assessing the risk of developing PEB.