The Relationship between Mental Disorders and Burnout in Health Practitioners

The present study aimed to determine the relationship between mental disorders and burnout among employees of Shiraz University of Medical Science, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, 300 employees were selected as the study sample using random sampling method. Symptoms of mental disorder, predictor variables, and burnout were the criterion variables of this study. Data were collected using the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R) and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). A significant positive relationship was observed between burnout and all symptoms of mental disorders. Results showed that aggression was significant predictor of emotional exhaustion (r = 0.52) (P < 0.001) and depersonalization (r = 0.410) (P < 0.010). Moreover, aggression (r = 0.57) (P = 0.030), and paranoid ideation (r = 0.45) (P < 0.001) could positively and significantly predict reduced performance. The results showed that, among the symptoms of mental disorder, aggression is considered as the most important predictor of occupational burnout. It seems that planning for educational, organizational, and psychological services based on the results of the present study can play an important role in the promotion of mental health and job satisfaction among personnel of medical universities.