The Predictors of Depression and Burnout Among Surgical Residents: A Cross-sectional Study From Kuwait

To assess the prevalence and risk factors for depression and burnout among residents across surgical specialties in Kuwait.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Burnout
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: no intervention, this is a cross sectional questionnaire based study.

Detailed Description

This is a questionnaire based cross-sectional study conducted in Kuwait from jan 2021- February 2021 An online questionnaire was sent to the residents enrolled to the surgical residency programs in Kuwait. Residency training in Kuwait provides programs in both medical and surgical specialties. Specialties included in our cohort were: general surgery, orthopedic surgery, urology, neurosurgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology and otolaryngology.

The email sent to our participants included an invitation letter detailing the reason behind the questionnaire and that it is confidential and anonymous. Consent was obtained from participants.

Variables:

Variables collected included; age, gender, marital status, smoking history, exercise, specialty, year of training, on-call frequency, assessment of burnout and assessment of depression symptoms.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 80

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Kuwait
  • Outside U.S./Canada
    • Kuwait, Outside U.S./Canada, Kuwait, 00000
      • Mubarak Al Kabeer hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: N/A
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

surgical residents across 4 specialties.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

- residents enrolled in surgical training in Kuwait. Across all surgical specialties From R1-R5

Exclusion Criteria:

Recently accepted candidates that have not yet started residency.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

4

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
general surgery residents	Other: no intervention, this is a cross sectional questionnaire based study.; no intervention, this is an observational cross sectional study
orthopedic surgery residents	Other: no intervention, this is a cross sectional questionnaire based study.; no intervention, this is an observational cross sectional study
urology residents	Other: no intervention, this is a cross sectional questionnaire based study.; no intervention, this is an observational cross sectional study
OBGYN residents	Other: no intervention, this is a cross sectional questionnaire based study.; no intervention, this is an observational cross sectional study

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Symptoms of depression were assessed using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score	(PHQ-9) score, a self-report questionnaire that is commonly used as a screening tool for depression. It is composed of 9 questions assessing the frequency of depressive symptoms on a 4-point Liker-scale ranging from 0 (never) to 3 (nearly every day). The total score was calculated for each patient and was interpreted as follows: minimal (1-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-14), moderately severe (15-21), severe (20-27). A standard cutoff of score of 10 was used, indicating a diagnosis of depression.	1 month
Burnout symptoms were assessed using 9-item form of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey (aMBI-HSS)	The aMBI is a 9-item questionnaire each question is rated on a 7-point Liker scale ranging from 0 to 6, which indicates the frequency of symptoms in question. Response options include; Every day, A few times a week, Once a week, A few times a month, Once a month, A few times a year, or Never. The questions grouped into 3 subscales (emotional exhaustion EE, depersonalization D and personal accomplishment PA) are evaluated and scored separately with each score ranging from 0 to 18. We used the cut off points set by Lebares et al. for EE and D. The cut off points for high burnout among U.S. surgery residents were: EE score ≥ 9 and D score ≥ 6. A PA score ≤ 12 was chosen as a cut-off for high burnout.	1 month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ministry of Health, Kuwait

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 1, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): February 1, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 18, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 19, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): March 22, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 23, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 19, 2021
• Last Verified: March 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological; Burnout, Psychological
• Other Study ID Numbers: MOHKWMKH21

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF; ANALYTIC_CODE; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No