Burnout among primary health care workers in Brazil: results of a multilevel analysis

Purpose Burnout among health care workers may hamper the quality of care and effectiveness of health systems. Hence, we examined the prevalence of burnout in primary care teams, including community health workers; and investigated associations between individuals’ characteristics, team and primary care center factors, and burnout. Methods We carried out a cross-sectional study among primary care teams in the city of São Paulo, Brazil ( n = 2940). We randomly selected 66 primary care centers. The Maslach burnout inventory was used to investigate burnout. We used multilevel modelling to examine the associations between individuals’ characteristics, team and primary care center variables with burnout. Results We addressed 351 primary care teams, with 11.4% of participants presenting severe burnout. The variance in burnout among primary care workers was partially explained by individuals’ characteristics, and by team and primary care center factors. Severe burnout was associated with the following: (1) individuals’ characteristics: being black, being younger, a higher length of employment in primary care, and presenting a lack of feedback from supervisors; (2) team factors: working in deprived areas and not receiving the support of a multidisciplinary team; and (3) primary care center factors: inadequate infrastructure (less than one office available per team), and having a bad/very bad relationship with the community council. Conclusions To reduce burnout among primary care teams, stakeholders should: (1) train managers/supervisors on leadership styles that prioritize performance feedback, support, and communication skills; (2) allocate catchment areas to teams according to each community’s vulnerability; (3) provide a multidisciplinary team to support primary care workers; and (4) offer suitable facilities and infra-structure.