ABSTRACT

Healthcare professionals’ burnout is a response to the prolonged exposure to occupational stress and affects negatively both the employee and the organization. The aim of the present review is to discuss the relevant burnout risk factors for European healthcare professionals working in hospitals and clinics. A systematic search of articles published between January 2000 and December 2011 was conducted in several databases (ISI Web of Knowledge, PsychArticles, SagePub, PubMed and Cochrane database of systematic reviews). After the analysis of the 4335 articles found, 53 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Results confirm the main role of occupational and organizational risk factors while pointing out that psychosocial factors have a small yet statistically significant influence on burnout development. Socio-demographic factors, although included in the majority of studies, seem to have little impact on burnout. In conclusion, the review pointed out that although the healthcare systems across Europe are fundamentally different, healthcare professionals present similar risk factors concerning burnout.

KEYWORDS: burnout, risk factors, healthcare professionals, systematic review

PAGES:423-452