"Anxiety, COVID, Burnout and Now Depression": a Qualitative Study of Primary Care Clinicians' Perceptions of Burnout

Debora Goetz Goldberg; Tulay Soylu; Carolyn Faith Hoffman; Rachel E Kishton; Peter F Cronholm

doi:10.1007/s11606-023-08536-2

"Anxiety, COVID, Burnout and Now Depression": a Qualitative Study of Primary Care Clinicians' Perceptions of Burnout

J Gen Intern Med. 2023 Nov 27. doi: 10.1007/s11606-023-08536-2. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Debora Goetz Goldberg^{1

2}, Tulay Soylu³, Carolyn Faith Hoffman⁴, Rachel E Kishton⁵, Peter F Cronholm^{5

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Administration and Policy, College of Public Health, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive MS IJ3, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA. dgoldbe4@gmu.edu.
² Center for Evidence-Based Behavioral Health, George Mason University, Fairfax County, USA. dgoldbe4@gmu.edu.
³ Department of Health Services Administration and Policy, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA.
⁴ Department of Health Administration and Policy, College of Public Health, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive MS IJ3, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA.
⁵ Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
⁶ Center for Public Health, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
⁷ Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.

PMID: 38010463
DOI: 10.1007/s11606-023-08536-2

Abstract

Background: Clinician burnout has become a major issue in the USA, contributing to increased mental health challenges and problems with quality of care, productivity, and retention.

Objective: The objective of this study was to understand primary care clinicians' perspectives on burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as their perspectives on the causes of burnout and strategies to improve clinician well-being.

Approach: This qualitative research involved in-depth interviews with 27 primary care clinicians practicing in a range of settings across the USA. Semi-structured interviews lasted between 60 and 90 min and were conducted using Zoom video conferencing software between July 2021 and February 2023. Transcripts were analyzed in NVivo software using multiple cycles of coding.

Key results: Clinicians shared their experiences with burnout and mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contributors to burnout included high levels of documentation, inefficiencies of electronic health record (EHR) systems, high patient volume, staffing shortages, and expectations for responding to patient emails and telephone calls. The majority of participants described the need to work after clinic hours to complete documentation. Many clinicians also discussed the need for health system leaders to make sincere efforts to enhance work-life balance and create a culture of health and well-being for health professionals. Suggested strategies to address these issues included supportive leadership, accessible mental health services, and additional administrative time to complete documentation.

Conclusions: The results of this study provide an in-depth view of participating primary care clinicians' experiences and perceptions of burnout and other mental health challenges. These viewpoints can improve awareness of the issues and strategies to improve the health and well-being of our clinician workforce. Strategies include aligning payment models with the best approaches for delivering quality patient care, reducing administrative burden related to documentation, and redesigning EHR systems with a human factors approach.

Keywords: electronic health record; moral injury; primary care; professional burnout; qualitative research.