PREVALENCE AND CORRELATES OF BURNOUT IN PORTUGUESE RADIOGRAPHERS
Synopsis
Burnout syndrome, recognised by the WHO as an occupational problem, results from chronic stress in the workplace and significantly affects the health and professional effectiveness of healthcare professionals. Objectives: Study the associations between burnout levels, sociodemographic and workrelated variables among radiographers, nuclear medicine and therapeutic radiographers in central Portugal. Methodology: Cross-sectional study with a sample of 85 participants (39.89 ± 11.96 years). The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), validated for the Portuguese language, was used to measure burnout, and another questionnaire to evaluate sociodemographic and work-related variables. Results: No significative differences in burnout were observed between genders or experience. However, shift patterns are significantly related with burnout. Radiographers, in general, who had “fixed shift” showed significantly higher levels of patient-related burnout, compared to professionals with “mixed shift”. (p=0.047). According to the work type, radiographers expressed higher levels in the patient-related dimension, compared to nuclear medicine and therapeutic radiographers (p= 0.012). Conclusions: Given the small sample size, results should be interpreted with caution. However, this study contributes to the identification of associations between the dimensions of burnout and some sociodemographic and work-related variables among radiology, nuclear medicine, and radiotherapy technicians. Further studies with larger samples are needed to consolidate the results obtained.
