Abstract

Burnout syndrome is a psychological condition resulting from chronic occupational stress, particularly prevalent in professions requiring extensive human interaction, such as healthcare. It encompasses emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2024 to June 2024 among 146 emergency medicine professionals using a pre-tested self-administered online questionnaire, including the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Simple random sampling was employed using a list of EMP of the considered hospitals as a sampling frame, and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests & binary logistic regression with SPSS 23.0. Response rate was 82.9% (n=120). The prevalence of high overall burnout was 43.3% (95% CI-34.32%-52.69%), with 20.8% (95% CI: 13.96%-29.20%) reporting high emotional exhaustion, 37.5% (95% CI: 28.83%- 46.80%) high depersonalization, and 3.3% (95% CI: 1.0%-8.31%) high personal inefficacy. Significant associations were found between high burnout levels and factors such as anxiety (OR=5.02, 95% CI-1.81-13.90, p=0.001) and poor coping strategies (OR=4.23, 95% CI-1.15-15.6, p=0.02). No significant associations were found with socio-demographic characteristics or organizational factors. The study found a high prevalence of burnout among emergency medicine professionals, with significant levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Burnout was significantly associated with anxiety and poor coping strategies, while no associations were observed with socio-demographic or organizational factors. Interventions should focus on addressing anxiety and enhancing coping strategies among emergency medicine professionals to reduce burnout. Future efforts should prioritize individual-level psychological support.