Burnout syndrome among medical students in Kazakhstan

Is There a Burnout Epidemic among Medical Students? Results from a Systematic Review

Background and Objectives: Medical students represent the ideal target group for promoting mental health and mental wellbeing, being exposed to specific risk factors, such as the content of medical training, the exposure to sickness and death, and a stressful academic routine. Medical students report high levels of cynicism and emotional exhaustion, which represent two of the essential features of burnout syndrome. In this systematic review, studies assessing the levels of burnout among medical students through validated tools worldwide were analyzed. Materials and Methods: A systematic review has been performed in order to identify studies: (1) focusing on samples of medical students; (2) evaluating burnout syndrome using validated tools; (3) providing prevalence data on burnout; and (4) written in English. Results: Out of the 5547 papers initially obtained, 64 were finally included in the analysis. The sample sizes ranged from 51 to 2682 participants. Almost all studies had a cross-sectional design; the Maslach Burnout Inventory and its related versions were the most frequently used assessment tools. The prevalence of burnout, which was stratified based on gender and academic stage, ranged from 5.6 to 88%. Burnout was mostly predicted by thoughts of stopping medical education, negative life events, lack of support, dissatisfaction, and poor motivation. Conclusions: The prevalence of burnout syndrome in medical students is quite heterogeneous, reaching a peak of 88% in some countries. However, several predictors have been identified, including negative life events or poor motivation. These findings highlight the need to develop preventive interventions targeting the future generation of medical doctors, in order to improve their coping strategies and resilience styles.

Association between suicidal ideation and burnout: A meta-analysis

Approximately 700,000 people die by suicide annually worldwide. Researchers have explored a spectrum of experiences that involve stress in academic or work environments and potentially intensify suicidal thoughts or behaviors. However, no meta-analysis has examined the relationship between suicidal ideation (SI) and burnout. This study consisted of a meta-analysis to examine the association between SI and burnout syndrome, utilizing the WoS Core Collection, Scopus, PubMed, PsycINFO, DIALNET, and Google Scholar databases. Twenty-one samples met the study's eligibility criteria for inclusion in the analysis. The results revealed a significant relationship between SI and burnout, with the type of burnout (occupational, academic, and parental) emerging as the most significant moderating variable. Occupational burnout exhibited the lowest correlation, followed by academic and parental burnout. These findings suggest the importance of developing tools to assess SI within the context of the work environment, parenting and academics, and psychoeducational programs for managing stress.

Depression and burnout among Chinese nurses during COVID-19 pandemic: a mediation and moderation analysis model among frontline nurses and nonfrontline nurses caring for COVID-19 patients

BACKGROUND

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses' workload increased dramatically, and nurses faced the risk of infection and multiple ethical dilemmas. In such a situation, nurse burnout was elevated, which tended to exacerbate depression in nurses. Although previous studies have demonstrated the relationship between burnout and depression among nurses, the exact mechanisms remain unclear. Furthermore, environmental factors are also essential to a person's psychological health. Therefore, this study intended to investigate the potential mechanisms of depression caused by nurse burnout and whether burnout among frontline nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated its effect on depression in nurses as an environmental factor.

METHODS

A total of 4517 nurses were enrolled in this study. A moderated mediation model was established to investigate the relationship between burnout and positive coping styles, interpersonal relationships, and depression utilizing the SPSS PROCESS 3.3 macro. The direct effect of burnout on depression was also investigated with the moderated mediation model.

RESULTS

The indirect effects of positive coping styles (β = 0.04, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.04) and interpersonal relationships (β = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.10 to 0.13) were revealed. Being a frontline nurse caring for COVID-19 patients moderated the direct effect of burnout on depression (β = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.16).

CONCLUSION

This study offers strong evidence for the mediating role of positive coping styles and interpersonal relationships in the relationship between nurse burnout and depression, in addition to illustrating the need for more psychological support for frontline nurses caring for COVID-19 patients.

Prevalence and associated factors of burnout among nursing students: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

To systematically estimate the global prevalence of burnout among nursing students, and examine the associated factors of burnout in this population.

DESIGN

A systematic review and meta-analysis.

REVIEW METHODS AND DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL were searched from inception to June 30th, 2022. Two researchers independently screened studies, extracted data and assessed the quality of included studies. The random-effects model was used to estimate the global prevalence of burnout among nursing students. Subgroup analysis, meta-regression analysis, publication bias, and sensitivity analysis were also conducted.

RESULTS

A total of 21 studies were included, involving 10,861 nursing students. In the random-effects model, the pooled prevalence of burnout was 23.0 % (95 % CI = 15.6-30.5 %) in nursing students. The pooled prevalence of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment was 47.1 %, 32.2 %, and 43.5 %, respectively. Main associated factors of burnout included demographic (e.g., age and grade), educational (e.g., workload, academic satisfaction, and incivility experience), physical (e.g., sleep quality and physical activity), and psychological (e.g., self-efficacy and personality traits) factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Burnout is common in nursing students, with demographic, educational, physical, and psychological factors affecting their burnout. Early screening of burnout and interventions to prevent and reduce burnout should be considered for nursing students.

Prevalence, characteristics and measurement of somatic symptoms related to mental health in medical students: a scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Somatic symptoms related to mental health in medical students are under-researched, with nothing on the topic being published in the United States in over three decades. This scoping review is the first of its kind to explore the prevalence, type and severity of somatic symptoms induced by stress, anxiety, depression and burnout amongst medical students, with the objective of describing the significance and breadth of this issue.

METHODS

PRISMA-ScR guidelines were used to guide this review. A comprehensive search was performed of 22 databases, followed by bibliographic and hand searching. Inclusion criteria were published, peer-reviewed articles with a sample of medical students and at least one measure of somatic symptoms related to mental health, in English or with an English-language translation. Excluded were review, companion and editorial articles. Coding was done by an experienced coder trained in systematic review techniques. Two authors reviewed each article.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine articles met inclusion criteria, representing 16 countries, 31 schools/teaching hospitals and 9,887 medical students. The prevalence of somatic symptoms ranged from 5.7 to 80.1%, and somatic symptoms were overwhelmingly found to be significantly correlated with mental ill-health. Somatic symptoms included back pain, neck pain, headaches, sleep disturbances and functional gastrointestinal disorders. Eleven different outcome measures were used, with varying degrees of validity and reliability, which were compared and assessed.

CONCLUSIONS

Somatic symptoms appear strongly correlated with mental ill-health in medical students, and are likely highly prevalent. This review highlights the need for further research on somatic symptoms of mental ill-health in medical students, particularly in the United States, and the addition of larger, multi-institutional cohorts to expand our understanding of prevalence, incidence and inciting factors of somatic symptoms. Longitudinal studies tracking somatic symptoms' effect on career trajectory and professional burnout levels are also needed. Finally, future research should explore interventions for reducing physical symptom burden in medical students.