Burnout and its causes in Finnish dentists

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Abstract
In the spring of 1986 burnout and its relation to social and physical environments and the nature of work were studied using a questionnaire sent to a sample of 232 dentists aged under 62 living in the province of Uusimaa, Finland. Most male and female dentists (71 and 67%, respectively) were working in group practices and most (88%) employed an assistant. Professional problems were generally (71%) solved by consulting colleagues. Half of those responding were very satisfied with their relationship to other dental staff. All but 9% of dentists experienced problems in their physical working environments and 22% felt that their uncomfortable working posture interfered significantly with job satisfaction. Women reported chronic work-related conditions diagnosed by a physician more often than men (21 vs. 10%, respectively). At the time of the study, most dentists were experiencing pain in connection with work on patients and 41% of women and 59% of men were experiencing occupational stress. Most dentists experienced at least temporary psychological fatigue as a result of their work and almost half were exhausted at the end of each day. Despite this, most enjoyued working with patients and were enthusiastic about their work. Three aspects of burnout emerged on factor analysis: psychological fatigue, loss of enjoyment of work, and hardening. One third of dentists experienced some hardening and ceased to care greatly what happened to some of their patients. Of the factors associated with working environments, only dissatisfaction with relationships with patients, problems relating to the physical environment and poor working posture significantly increased burnout. Dissatisfaction with patient relationships increased disinterest and hardening. Unhappy marriages were highly significant predictors of psychological fatigue in men. The results sugget that hardening can be prevented by improving physical working environments, and fatigue and disinterest by improving working posture. Burnout can be regarded as posing a significant threat to good dental care.

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