title: Assessing burnout among neonatologists.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To measure burnout in a cohort of neonatologists and to explore its association with several psychological and biographic factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 110 neonatologists filled in a personal questionnaire composed of four parts: (a) biographic data, (b) personal beliefs, (c) attitudes toward clinical decisions and (d) a validated tool (the Link Burnout Questionnaire [LBQ]) to assess their burnout. The LBQ categorizes burnout into four subscales: psycho-physical exhaustion, relationship deterioration, sense of professional failure and disillusion. Scores of each subscale range from 6 (minimum) to 36 (maximum). Burnout values were matched with the data of the personal questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most neonatologists (60%-65%) were in the "at risk" range for burnout. High burnout was experienced by 30% of the neonatologists. Having no children is associated with low rates of burnout; work experience of less than 5 years, believing that living with a physical disability is unworthy and having recurrent death ideation are associated with high rates of burnout. The attitude to resuscitating a 24-week baby is inversely correlated with the disillusion rate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our cohort, burnout exceeds the alarm threshold in one-third of cases. Some of the risk factors we examined were correlated with burnout and should be considered in future prevention programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Reproduction Medicine, University of Siena, Sienna, Italy. cvbellieni@gmail.com
authors.forename: Carlo V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Bellieni
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Righetti
authors.forename: Rosanna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ciampa
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Iacoponi
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Coviello
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Buonocore
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009359:Neonatology; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires