The burnout's prevalence among Tunisian military consultants in psychiatry

Abstract

Introduction

Burnout causes a considerable human cost. Army employees are, in fact, particularly exposed to this risk.

Objective

To determinate the prevalence of burnout syndrome among military consultants in psychiatry and to study its socio-familial repercussions.

Method

A cross-sectional study was conducted in a military outpatient clinic in Tunis and included 30 military patients with a seniority of more than 15 years. Burnout and major depression were assessed with the instrument Burnout Measure Short version (BMS-10) and the Patient Health Questionnaire “PHQ-9”, respectively.

Results

Eighty percent of participants (n = 24) had a very high degree of burnout exposure according to BMS-10. Twenty of these (83.3%) had a moderate to severe depression. All married patients (n = 22) having burnout syndrome reported a conjugopathy and a tendency to physical and verbal aggressiveness against their children.

Conclusion

Military employees are particularly vulnerable to burnout. Detecting burnout in time is therefore essential in order to prevent its undeniable socio-familial repercussions.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.