These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: [What is burnout?].
    Author: Falkum E.
    Journal: Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen; 2000 Apr 10; 120(10):1122-8. PubMed ID: 10863339.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: Burnout is most often described as a concept with three separate dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization (lack of empathy), and reduced accomplishments at work. We wanted to study the descriptive validity of the concept, which may be measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Maslach Burnout Inventory was mailed to 1,476 members of the Norwegian Medical Association. The response rate was 73%. The dimensional structure of the instrument was examined by principal component analysis, and the identified factors correlated with validated measures of job satisfaction and depression. The dichotomized factors were combined in eight different ways, and the specificity of the resulting types was studied. RESULTS: The three original dimensions were reproduced, and the internal consistency of the factors was good (Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.91 to 0.69). There were high correlations between emotional exhaustion and both job satisfaction (r = -0.54) and depression (r = 0.72). INTERPRETATION: Emotional exhaustion seems to be the least specific of the burnout dimensions. For the purpose of reasonable descriptive validity, the burnout notion should be based on both emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. With the applied dichotomization thresholds, this implies that 3% of Norwegian physicians are "burned out".
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]