Burnout among Lebanese Oncologists: Prevalence and Risk Factors

Background: Burnout syndrome (BOS) is defined as a work-related psychological state characterized by emotionalexhaustion, depersonalization, and low sense of personal accomplishment. Despite the extensive data on physicianburnout, studies assessing the prevalence of burnout among oncologists in the Middle East and especially Lebanon arelacking. Our main objective was to determine this prevalence as well as identify potential factors associated with thedevelopment of burnout. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among medical, surgical, and radiationoncologists attending several Continuing Medical Education (CME) activities in Lebanon over the course of a threemonth period. Participants were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire composed of socio-demographicand work characteristics, as well as the Maslach Burnout Inventory- Human Service Survey (MBI-HSS). Results: A totalof 51 oncologists completed the survey. Medical oncologists constituted the majority (84.3%), followed by surgicaloncologists (9.8%) and radiation oncologists (5.9%). Approximately 47.1% of our sample had a high burnout level in atleast one of the domains. 33.3% of oncologists exhibited high emotional exhaustion (EE) scores, 19.6% demonstratedlow personal accomplishment (PA) scores, and 13.7% displayed high depersonalization (DP) scores. There was nostatistically significant association between overall burnout level and any of the demographic or work characteristics.However, age was significantly associated with EE (p=0.03), while DP scores were significantly associated with thenumber of patients seen daily (p=0.028). Conclusion: Burnout is common among cancer professionals in Lebanon.Future research is needed to explore the problem in depth and suggest effective preventive approaches.