Summary
Introduction. Burnout syndrome is the result of chronic emotional stress. It is characterized by high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and reduced level of personal
accomplishment. The aim of this study was to determine the
level of stress and risk for burnout syndrome in doctors employed
in health centers and hospitals, and to investigate the impact of
socio-demographic characteristics on the level of stress and the
occurrence of burnout syndrome. Material and Methods. A
cross-sectional study was conducted in the period from October
1 to December 31, 2015 in three health centers and in the University Clinical Center of the Republic of Srpska. The survey was
anonymous. A socio-demographic questionnaire and a questionnaire for self-assessment of the level of stress and Maslach Burnout Inventory were used as research instruments. Out of 151
doctors included in the study, 49% were family physicians, and
51% were hospital doctors. Results. The analysis of responses to
questionnaires for self-assessment of stress level revealed that
51.7% of participants had high levels of stress (52.7% of family
physicians, 50.6% of doctors working in hospital). A high degree
of emotional exhaustion was found in 27.2% of participants
(29.7% of family physicians, 24.6% of doctors working in hospital), high depersonalization was found in 23.8% of participants
(25.7% of family physicians, 22.1% of doctors working in hospital), a low level of personal accomplishment was found in 39.7%
of participants (37.8% of family physicians, 41.6% of doctors
working in hospital). No statistically significant difference regarding stress degree, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and personal accomplishment was found between hospital
doctors and family physicians. The physicians aged over 45 years
had a significantly (p = 0.030) higher level of emotional exhaustion than their younger colleagues. Conclusion. This study found
that there was a high risk of burnout syndrome in physicians in
the Republic of Srpska. Although the exposure to professional
stress was higher in family physicians than in hospital doctors,
the obtained difference was not statistically significant
