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. 2025 Aug 1;213(8):210-216.
doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001843. Epub 2025 Jul 29.

How is Burnout Self-identified?

Nicole Russo  1 , Andrew Camara, Gordon Parker
Affiliations

How is Burnout Self-identified?

Nicole Russo et al. J Nerv Ment Dis. .

Abstract

Introduction/trial design: We report a cross-sectional study pursuing the sources of information that lead individuals to judge that they had burnout.

Methods: An online survey in 2023 involved 903 Australians who judged they had burnout. Participants nominated their key symptoms, consulted sources, and completed the Sydney Burnout Measure (SBM) and the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT).

Results: Participants' own knowledge and awareness were the most nominated sources, while only 29.5% of sufferers received a diagnosis from a health professional. Those who consulted a health professional returned higher SBM and BAT scores and rates of physical symptoms, sleep changes and loss of executive function, suggesting greater syndrome severity. Participants nominated more symptoms than the three currently thought to define a burnout syndrome, but none were universally nominated.

Conclusions: Study findings challenge the dominant triadic model of burnout and assist in understanding why a clinical diagnosis of burnout is complex.

Keywords: burnout; self-diagnosis; sources; symptoms.

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