Abstract 1852P
Background
Oncology is a satisfying career. Helping patients through their cancer diagnosis and treatment can offer a sense of self fulfilment. But on the other hand, it can take its emotional toll on doctors. Long hours, dealing with life and death can affect oncologist’s mental health. It can cause depression, anxiety and PTSD. Our aim is to identify individuals who are at risk for burnout and facilitate interventions to prevent it.
Methods
This study used a descriptive design to identify individuals at risk for burnout among oncologists. It included 100 clinicians, working in various hospitals in Tunisia, recruited via email invitations. Inclusion criteria included being a practicing oncologist with at least one year of experience. Participants anonymously completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaire, a tool used to detect burnout. The MBI consists of 22 items that assess emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment.
Results
The population is made of 77% females and 23% males. With an average age of 33 years, medical oncologists represented 80%, radiotherapists 12% and surgical oncologists 8%. The majority had professional experience ranging from 1 to 5 years. Gender difference was seen on the emotional exhaustion subscale where women scored higher. No significant differences were observed in the scores based on professional experience or field of practice. Emotional Exhaustion: Participants had a mean score of 29. Meaning the participants experienced high levels of emotional exhaustion. Only 20% of the population had low score, 20% scored moderately and 60% had high scores. Depersonalization: Results showed a mean score of 10. Participants are experiencing moderate levels of depersonalization, with 28% scoring low, 32% scoring moderate and 40% scoring high. Personal Accomplishment: the average score was 35. Participants are experiencing moderate levels of personal accomplishment, with 32% at low risk of burnout, 20% at moderate risk and 48% at high risk of burnout.
Conclusions
Our study provides valuable information about the levels of burnout experienced by oncologists. It should inform interventions and strategies to mitigate burnout and promote wellbeing in this population. It should also ring alarm bells to oncologists’ suffering mental health.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Resources from the same session
1878P - Prevalence of burnout in GU oncologists in central Asia: BUCARE survey
Presenter: Oxana Shatkovskaya
Session: Poster session 05
1879P - Investigating the effect of family support on the mental health of patients with breast cancer
Presenter: Maryam Garousi
Session: Poster session 05
1880P - Cancer care: Psychoeducational intervention for first-year residents of a general hospital in northeastern Mexico
Presenter: Celia Beatriz Gonzalez-Alcorta
Session: Poster session 05
1991P - Safety and effectiveness of surgery or radiotherapy after PD-L1 Inhibitor (TQB-2450) and chemotherapy induction therapy in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer: A phase II trial
Presenter: Fenghuan Sun
Session: Poster session 05
1992P - A phase II safety and efficacy study of PM8002 (anti-PD-L1 x VEGF-A bispecific) combined with paclitaxel as a second-line therapy for small cell lung cancer (SCLC)
Presenter: Ying Cheng
Session: Poster session 05
1993P - Phase IIIb study of durvalumab plus platinum–etoposide in first-line treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (CANTABRICO): Safety results
Presenter: Maria Dolores Isla Casado
Session: Poster session 05
1994P - Carboplatin, etoposide, bevacizumab, and atezolizumab in patients with extensive-stage SCLC – GOIRC-01-2019 CeLEBrATE ML41241 trial
Presenter: Karim Rihawi
Session: Poster session 05
1995P - Long-term benefit of atezolizumab plus chemotherapy in extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC): Exploratory analysis from the IMfirst study
Presenter: Maria Rosario Garcia Campelo
Session: Poster session 05
1996P - The impact of an etoposide shortage on patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC): Results of a natural experiment
Presenter: Claire Browne
Session: Poster session 05
1997P - A study of sintilimab combined with anlotinib and chemotherapy as second-line or later therapy in extensive-disease small cell lung cancer
Presenter: Zhe-Hai Wang
Session: Poster session 05