Job Burnout from the Perspective of Health Educators: Challenges and Needs

Job burnout among health educators is increasing with serious physical, psychological and social consequences. The purpose of this study was to explore the causes of job burnout from the perspective of health educators and identify their needs for reducing it.

This qualitative study was carried out in comprehensive health service centers of Sanandaj, west of Iran, in 2017, including 15 health educators selected by purposive sampling. The data were collected through individual interviews and semi-structured group discussions, observation and field notes and analyzed using the conventional content analysis approach with due consideration of acceptability, verifiability and transferability to ensure the accuracy and strength of the data.

The causes of job burnout were extracted in 5 categories including "issues related to comprehensive health service centers", "individual challenges of staff members", "management weakness", "executive system challenges" and "issues related to clients". The participants emphasized the following actions for reducing job burnout: strengthening individual skills, effective evaluation and management support, providing recreational and welfare facilities, reducing job stress, and strengthening intra- and inter-sectoral communications.

The results of this study show that various factors contribute to job burnout among health educators. Improvements in management, laws and welfare facilities not only would reduce job burnout but also may increase the efficiency of health education programs.