Pediatric Provider and Staff Burnout in Community Health Centers (CHCs)
Background:
- Community Health Centers (CHCs) are integral in caring for individuals who are low income and come from structurally marginalized communities
- Provider burnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment
- It is important to assess provider and staff burnout at CHCs to understand unique experiences across the care team
Objective:
- Compare burnout rates between pediatric primary care providers, behavioral health clinicians, and community health workers/family partners (CHWs/FPs)
- Compare burnout rates among this sample to other national samples
Methods
- Setting Pediatric providers and staff at 4 Boston area CHCs during the planning period of a pediatric behavioral health integration (BH) project
- Survey Content Burnout levels assessed through the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services for Medical Personnel (MBI HSMP)
- Comparison Studies Three published national studies of nurses 3 psychologists 4 and physicians 5 that measured burnout using the MBI HSSMP
Results
- In comparison to their BHC and CHW/FP colleagues, burnout was highest among PCPs.
- Burnout among CHC PCPs and BHCs was lower than among physicians and psychologists nationally, while personal accomplishment was similar. While no national comparison was available for CHWs, similar patterns of lower burnout were observed.
Conclusion
- CHC providers and staff care for large, complex, structurally marginalized patient panels; our data highlight the importance of ensuring CHC provider and staff burnout is properly addressed.