Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine the levels of burnout among employees of health care workers in the Health Area of Ceuta (Spain). DESIGN: Prevalence study. SETTING: Ceuta Health Area (Primary and Specialty Care). PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 200 workers stratified by sex, job and workplace. MEASUREMENTS: The tool used was the MBI (Maslach Burnout Inventory). We also studied personal (age, sex, marital status) and work variables (centre, job, age) and blood parameters (C-reactive protein and others). RESULTS: The burnout syndrome was present in 17.2% of workers (95% CI: 10.4-26.0). There was a significant relationship with job, with differences in emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and professional achievement. C-reactive protein was significantly higher in workers with burnout. CONCLUSIONS: Burnout prevalence in the health care workers in our sample is similar to other studies. The differences between health and non-health workers could be due to greater motivation for professional achievement, but they scored higher in exhaustion and depersonalisation. The increase in C-reactive protein, a non-specific inflammation marker, seems to confirm the findings of other studies.