Bio-Psycho-Socio-Spirito-Cultural Factors of Burnout: A Systematic Narrative Review of the Literature

Summary & key facts

This systematic narrative review looked at research from January 1981 to November 2020 across five databases to list factors linked to burnout. The authors found 40 distinct burnout-related factors and grouped them into 10 broad categories. They report that, besides biological, psychological, and social factors, spiritual and work-cultural factors also appear important. The review concludes that a wider “bio-psycho-socio-spirito-cultural” model is needed and that future research, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment should pay attention to spiritual and work cultural factors as well.

Key facts:

• The review searched five online databases (PubMed, PubPsych, PsychARTICLES, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and Google Scholar).
• The search covered publications from January 1981 through November 2020.
• The authors identified 40 distinct factors related to burnout.
• Those 40 factors were grouped into 10 overarching categories by the authors.
• The review reports that, in addition to biological, psychological, and socio-environmental factors, spiritual and work cultural factors were identified as playing an important role in the onset of burnout.
• The paper describes burnout using the common three subscales (exhaustion; depersonalization/cynicism; reduced professional efficacy) and notes that the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is one widely used measure.
• The authors conclude that an extended bio-psycho-socio-spirito-cultural model is necessary and recommend that future studies and future developments in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention should include spiritual and work cultural factors.

Abstract

Background: Burnout is a widespread, multifactorial, and mainly psychological phenomenon. The pathogenesis of burnout is commonly described within the bio-psycho-social model of health and disease. Recent literature suggests that the phenomenon of burnout may be broader so that the three dimensions might not reflect the multifaceted and complex nature of the syndrome. Consequently, this review aims to identify the diversity of factors related to burnout, to define overarching categories based on these, and to clarify whether the bio-psycho-social model adequately describes the pathogenesis of burnout-holistically and sufficiently. Method: Five online databases (PubMed, PubPsych, PsychARTICLES, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and Google Scholar) were systematically searched using defined search terms to identify relevant studies. The publication date was set between January 1981 and November 2020. Based on the selected literature, we identified factors related to burnout. We aggregated these factors into a comprehensible list and assigned them to overarching categories. Then, we assigned the factors to the dimensions of an extended model of health and disease. Results: We identified a total of 40 burnout-related factors and 10 overarching categories. Our results show that in addition to biological, psychological, and socio-environmental factors, various factors that can be assigned to a spiritual and work cultural dimension also play an important role in the onset of burnout. Conclusion: An extended bio-psycho-socio-spirito-cultural model is necessary to describe the pathogenesis of burnout. Therefore, future studies should also focus on spiritual and work cultural factors when investigating burnout. Furthermore, these factors should not be neglected in future developments of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention options.

Topics

Health, psychology, and well-being Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation

Categories

General Health Professions Health Professions Health Sciences

Tags

Anthropology Burnout Clinical psychology Diversity (politics) Epistemology Linguistics Narrative Phenomenon Philosophy Psychology Social psychology Sociology