Abstract
INTRODUCTION: burnout is a particular cause of concern in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Units. In addition to its socio-economic impact, it alters the quality of care and patients prognosis. This study aims to assess its prevalence among the staff members of the Tunisian Anesthesia and Intensive Care Units. METHODS: we conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study in the Anesthesia and Intensive Care Units of seven Tunisian University Hospitals. The study included the medical and paramedical staff who gave consent. The measuring instrument used was the Maslach burnout Inventory. RESULTS: the study included 283 staff members (72.19%). The average age of subjects was 40.2 ± 9.38 years, with a female predominance. Maslach scale revealed that 94.71% of the participants had burnout. The mean emotional exhaustion score, depersonalization score and professional achievement score were 28.65 ± 11.92; 8.62 ± 6.65 and 34.58 ± 8.07 respectively. High to moderate burn-out level were found in 13.3% and 26.2% of cases respectively. Burn-out effects were dominated by additive behaviors (52.65%) and suicidal ideations (4.59%). CONCLUSION: burnout is becoming more and more a tangible reality for the staff members of the Anesthesia and Intensive Care Units, engendering serious social and personal consequences.