[Burnout in general practitioners]. / Burnout bei niedergelassenen Arztinnen und Arzten für Allgemeinmedizin.

BACKGROUND: The term "burnout" refers to emotional and physical exhaustion, indifference, cynicism, a reduced sense of work satisfaction, and social withdrawal, which - apart from internal factors - are contingent upon work overload, a lack of "control" options, i.e., possibilities in self-determination, inadequate financial compensation, breakdown of social networks, absence of fairness, and conflicting basic values. The boundaries between the notions of burnout and depression are porous. METHODS: General practitioners in Tirol were the subject of a survey using the Maslach Burnout Inventory and supplementary items in a questionnaire; the return rate was 41.3 %. RESULTS: Over a third of participants (35.8 %) reported that they were "in danger of burnout"; 27.2 % indicated high burnout values for the categories of emotional exhaustion, 3.2 % for depersonalization, and 10.0 % for cynicism. The mean values were outside of the range which might warrant therapeutic intervention. The study did not reveal any noteworthy correlations based upon either age or gender (p > 0.05). Medical professionals licensed under the national health insurance plan tended to show greater burnout than professionals practicing outside the public plans. GPs who took part in supervisory services reported significantly less burnout. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggests that the topic of burnout in the medical profession in Austria continues to merit study and discussion and that the provision of supervision might be a relevant option.

[The sense of coherence among general practitioners]. / Kohärenzempfinden (Sense of Coherence) bei niedergelassenen Arztinnen und Arzten für Allgemeinmedizin.

The term "sense of coherence" (SOC) refers to a life perspective which spans affective states centering around notions of comprehensibility, manageability, meaningfulness of work or personal contribution, and self-confidence, in a context where demands are perceived as challenges. SOC is positively correlated with psychological well-being, stress management and negatively with anxiety, depression, and neuroticism. General practitioners licensed by the regional health insurance fund in Styria were the subject of a 29-item survey on Sense of Coherence as described by Antonovsky; the return rate was 78.3%. The SOC of GPs replying to the survey was categorized as "marginal" in 29.9% of cases, "significant" in 59.9%, and "rigid" (in the sense of a so-called "inauthentic" self-image) in 10.2% of cases. Overall, the value found was 5.30 +/- 0.56 (Likert scale = absolute 153.8 +/- 16.2; significant), which falls within the range of values for other comparable services or professions, and comes slightly on top over figures for a normative sample. No significant correlations were found for either age or gender (p > 0.05). Reported values for comprehensibility gained in proportion to the age of the general practice of the informant (p < 0.05).