Burnout syndrome in healthcare professionals: an integrative review

Abstract

The incidence of burnout syndrome or professional exhaustion is significant among healthcare professionals, with negative impact on the personal, institutional, governmental, and patient care spheres. Aiming to investigate Brazilian research on the topic, we conducted an integrative literature review and selected 35 articles published from 2014 to 2019. We identified a high rate of burnout syndrome in healthcare professionals, a high risk of developing this condition and other mental disorders. Most studies were conducted in hospitals and public health centers, involved health professionals and had a greater number of female professionals. We emphasize the need to conduct further studies in the field, especially regarding other professional categories and other work environments, also analyzing the impact of the predominance of female healthcare professionals.