RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Burnout exerts a significant negative influence on job performance, especially in such difficult jobs as those to be found in the health care industry. This research aimed to evaluate the association between 3 dimensions of burnout and demographic factors among the medical staff working in all of the hospitals associated with Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Iran. METHODS: The research detailed herein was a descriptive, analytical cross-sectional study which was conducted on 461 medical staff working in all of the hospitals associated with Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Iran, from April 2011 to February 2012. The data were collected using a self-response method and include demographic information as well as the Maslach Burnout Inventory. In this study, samples were selected using a stratified random sampling method. The scoring of the burnout questionnaire ranged from 0 (never) to 6 (every day), with the levels of each of the 3 dimensions of burnout (as well as burnout itself) then being categorized as being low, moderate, or high. The data were analyzed using an independent t-test, a chi-square test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficient, all in SPSS 18. RESULTS: Most people had experienced moderate levels of burnout (53.6%). With regard to the 3 domains of burnout, 46.4% of the participants had experienced moderate levels of emotional exhaustion, more than half (56.4%) had experienced low levels of depersonalization, and more than half (52.5%), high levels of a diminished sense of accomplishment. Burnout was shown to be statistically significantly associated with gender, place of residence, the condition of that residence, educational level, and being or not being local (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The research findings showed that the rate of burnout was moderate among the medical staff working in hospitals associated with Bushehr University of Medical Sciences. Probably, burnout can be reduced in the hospitals' different staff members through better and suitable planning and through the organization of human resources.