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. 2021 Mar 1;47(2):95-107.
doi: 10.5271/sjweh.3935. Epub 2020 Dec 1.

Harmonized definition of occupational burnout: A systematic review, semantic analysis, and Delphi consensus in 29 countries

Irina Guseva Canu  1 , Sandy Carla Marca, Francesca Dell'Oro, Ádám Balázs, Enrico Bergamaschi, Christine Besse, Renzo Bianchi, Jovanka Bislimovska, Adrijana Koscec Bjelajac, Merete Bugge, Carmen Iliana Busneag, Çiğdem Çağlayan, Mariana Cernițanu, Cristiana Costa Pereira, Nataša Dernovšček Hafner, Nadia Droz, Maija Eglite, Lode Godderis, Harald Gündel, Jari J Hakanen, Raluca Maria Iordache, Imane Khireddine-Medouni, Sibel Kiran, Francesca Larese-Filon, Catherine Lazor-Blanchet, Patrick Légeron, Tom Loney, Nicole Majery, Eda Merisalu, Ingrid Sivesind Mehlum, Laurent Michaud, Dragan Mijakoski, Jordan Minov, Alberto Modenese, Marija Molan, Henk van der Molen, Evangelia Nena, Dusan Nolimal, Marina Otelea, Elisabeta Pletea, Nurka Pranjic, David Rebergen, Jelena Reste, Eva Schernhammer, Anny Wahlen
Affiliations

Harmonized definition of occupational burnout: A systematic review, semantic analysis, and Delphi consensus in 29 countries

Irina Guseva Canu et al. Scand J Work Environ Health. .

Abstract

Objective A consensual definition of occupational burnout is currently lacking. We aimed to harmonize the definition of occupational burnout as a health outcome in medical research and reach a consensus on this definition within the Network on the Coordination and Harmonisation of European Occupational Cohorts (OMEGA-NET). Methods First, we performed a systematic review in MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Embase (January 1990 to August 2018) and a semantic analysis of the available definitions. We used the definitions of burnout and burnout-related concepts from the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED-CT) to formulate a consistent harmonized definition of the concept. Second, we sought to obtain the Delphi consensus on the proposed definition. Results We identified 88 unique definitions of burnout and assigned each of them to 1 of the 11 original definitions. The semantic analysis yielded a first proposal, further reformulated according to SNOMED-CT and the panelists` comments as follows: "In a worker, occupational burnout or occupational physical AND emotional exhaustion state is an exhaustion due to prolonged exposure to work-related problems". A panel of 50 experts (researchers and healthcare professionals with an interest for occupational burnout) reached consensus on this proposal at the second round of the Delphi, with 82% of experts agreeing on it. Conclusion This study resulted in a harmonized definition of occupational burnout approved by experts from 29 countries within OMEGA-NET. Future research should address the reproducibility of the Delphi consensus in a larger panel of experts, representing more countries, and examine the practicability of the definition.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of study selection
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chronology of original definitions of occupational burnout. For each referenced original definition, the year of the first and updated publication, the first author’s name, main features, and the country of publication are reported along with the number of the corresponding secondary definitions, the frequency [N(%)]* and the timespan of their citations as quantified in the frame of the systematic review of 248 longitudinal studies on occupational burnout. The two definitions identified after the end of the systematic literature search (August 2018) were added and shown framed in dotted lines. *A single article can cite more than one definition.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • The burnout enigma solved?
    Schaufeli W. Schaufeli W. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2021 Apr 1;47(3):169-170. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.3950. Epub 2021 Feb 19. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2021. PMID: 33604675 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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