Burnout predictors in health professionals of primary care of Porto Alegre/RS, Brazil

Burnout syndrome (BS) consists in a response to chronic labor problems that becomes from physical and mental illnesses of worker and it may result in absence from work. Health professionals would be a vulnerable category of BS due to the characteristics of care work and management models. An observational analytic cross section was conducted with 217 workers from two primary health districts of Porto Alegre/RS, Brazil, to determine the prevalence and predictors of BS. It was used: demographic and labor questionnaire, SBI (which assesses BS Profile 1 and BS Profile 2) and SRQ - 20 (which assesses common mental disorders - CMD). Data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis and simple/multiple linear regression. The results indicated that 18% of professionals present BS profile 1 and 11%, profile 2. Predictors for BS profile 1 were: CMD, fatigue, length of employment, having children, only work, living in Porto Alegre and work at an ordinary primary healthcare unit. For BS profile 2 were similiar, except for the variables: city and kind of local place. The high prevalence of BS in the sample shows the need of institutions of primary healthcare to conduct prevention and promotion health projects among their own workers.