Prevalencia del síndrome de burnout y la asociación con variables sociodemográficas y laborales en una provincia de Ecuador

One of the groups most at risk for developing burnout syndrome is constituted by health workers. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of burnout syndrome and its dimensions, as well as the sociodemographic and labor variables, in nurses and doctors of medical health institutions of the 1 province of Ecuador. A sample of 166 health proffesionals (69.49% women, mean age = 38.0 years) was selected. A variety of instruments to collect information on socio-demographic, work and burnout syndrome were used. A prevalence of 4.2% for the burnout syndrome was found. Regarding the burnout dimensions, a prevalence of 26.5% for high emotional fatigue, 25.9% for high despersonalization, and 42.2% for low personal fulfillment at work were found. Professionals with higher burnout were a professional the what had an experience of more than 12 years medical staff; with working hours more than eight a day, assisting more than 18 patients a day. The results of this research will allow us to develop an improvement in health regulations in order to ensure the occupational health of these professionals.