Effectiveness of strategies to prevent burnout syndrome in hospital-based healthcare personnel: an overview of systematic reviews.

INTRODUCTION

Burnout syndrome (BO) significantly affects healthcare personnel, especially in hospital settings. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified this issue, highlighting the need for effective preventive strategies.

OBJECTIVES

To synthesize available evidence on the effectiveness of individual, organizational, and combined strategies to prevent or reduce BO in hospital-based healthcare personnel.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Epistemonikos, and the Virtual Health Library for systematic reviews published between January 1, 2014, and January 15, 2024. Reviews with or without meta-analyses were included if they evaluated preventive interventions for BO and contained at least one primary study. Reviews focused solely on stress, well-being, or anxiety without specific BO outcomes were excluded. Two reviewers independently extracted data on study characteristics, types of interventions, measurement tools, and outcomes. A de novo extraction of 107 primary studies was also performed.

RESULTS

Twenty-seven systematic reviews were included. The most frequently evaluated interventions were mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral therapy, workload reduction, and professional coaching. Structured, in-person interventions generally showed greater effectiveness. Organizational strategies yielded mixed results.

CONCLUSION

Both individual and organizational interventions can reduce BO in healthcare professionals. Structured, face-to-face, and multifaceted approaches appear to be more effective. High-quality research is needed, with emphasis on implementation strategies tailored to clinical contexts.