Determinants and Effects of Burnout on Healthcare Professionals and Healthcare Delivery at the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Hospital, Tamale, in the Northern Region of Ghana ()
ABSTRACT
Background: Healthcare professionals frequently experience burnout, characterised by emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and a diminished sense of personal success. We aimed to identify the determinants associated with burnout among healthcare professionals and its implications on healthcare professionals and healthcare delivery. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Hospital, Tamale, in the Northern Region of Ghana. One hundred twenty-six healthcare professionals of various categories were recruited using convenience sampling. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Epi Info software was utilised to analyse the determinants and effects of burnout. Results: A small percentage of the study population (4.76%) had burnout. The majority (83.33%) affirmed that burnout affects healthcare professionals, with the effects being physical exhaustion (68.25%), depression (42.86%), medical errors (23.81%), intention to quit the job (17.46%) and suicidal thoughts (9.52%). Similarly, 92% agreed that burnout affects healthcare delivery, with the effects occurring as medical errors (73.02%), patient dissatisfaction (55.56%), increased mortality rates (43.65%), increased lawsuits (32.54%), and increased healthcare costs (20.63%); overall, factors contributing to burnout included workload (61.11%), inadequate staff numbers (57.14%), working overtime (50.79%), and low salary (50.00%). Conclusions: Significant determinants of burnout were work overload, lack of staff, working overtime and low wages. Physical exhaustion had the most effect on healthcare professionals, while increased medical errors and patient dissatisfaction were the most cited effects of burnout on healthcare delivery.