Occupational Burnout and Quality of Life Among Healthcare Professionals in Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
M. Ali, S. Muhammad, Z. FarooqIntroduction
Burnout is a growing concern among healthcare professionals in Pakistan, where socioeconomic instability, long working hours, and lack of institutional support contribute to deteriorating mental well-being. This study examines the prevalence of burnout and its relationship with quality of life (QOL) among doctors working in a tertiary care setting.
Objectives
This study aimed to determine the prevalence of occupational burnout among doctors in a tertiary care hospital, evaluate its relationship with quality of life (QOL), and explore the causal pathway linking workload, exhaustion, and burnout.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey of 93 healthcare professionals was conducted using purposive sampling. Participants completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life- Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF or QOL), both validated and reliable tools. Inclusion criteria required participants to be 25–65 years old, with ≥1 year of practice and current hospital employment. Burnout was assessed across occupational exhaustion (OE), depersonalization (DP), and personal accomplishment (PA), while QOL was measured in five domains. Spearman correlation was used to test associations.
Results
The sample included female doctors (64.5%) and male doctors (35.5%), most of whom were postgraduate trainees (68.8%) aged 24–30 years (58.1%). A majority worked ≤80 hours/week (86%) and earned <1.2 million PKR annually (83.9%). Burnout was highly prevalent across both genders: 79.6% reported moderate to high OE, 81.7% high DP, and 67.7% low PA. Importantly, PA functioned as a protective factor, showing a positive association with psychosocial well-being (r = 0.209, p = 0.045). Overall QOL scores were moderate, with deficits most evident in psychosocial and social domains. OE demonstrated strong negative correlations with overall QOL (r = –0.459), physical health (r = –0.557), and psychosocial health (r = –0.414), all p < 0.001, while DP was weakly but significantly linked to lower QOL and environmental satisfaction.