ArticleBMC health services research2021
Exploring the impact of rural health system factors on physician burnout: a mixed-methods study in Northern Canada.
Article in BMC health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Stress and retention challenges among rural and regional physicians: a mixed-methods systematic review and framework for action.Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Family physician perspectives on managing indirect patient care activities in the electronic inbox: a systematic mixed studies review.Family practice · 2025Pooled it
- SCOPE and FRAME: Context-Specific Tools for Virtual Care Service Delivery in Rural and Remote Communities.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Digital health · 2026Article
- Article
- Perspectives of Yukon's frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.International journal of circumpolar health · 2025Article
- Burnout in Canadian Physiatrists: A National Cross-sectional Survey.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- "We really need to surround people with care:" a qualitative examination of service providers' perspectives on barriers to HIV care in Manitoba, Canada.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- A Scoping Review of the Current Knowledge of the Social Determinants of Health and Infectious Diseases (Specifically COVID-19, Tuberculosis, and H1N1 Influenza) in Canadian Arctic Indigenous Communities.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Physician and Advanced Practice Clinician Burnout in Rural and Urban Settings.Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFM · 2024Article
- From Identity to Ambugity: Exploring Interprofessional Collaboration Opportunities for Pharmacists in Rural and Remote Australia.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Predictors of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in health care workers providing health and rehabilitation services in rural and remote locations: A scoping review.The Australian journal of rural health · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBurnout among physicians is a consequence of chronic occupational stresses and emotionally intense work demands. However, much of the evidence exploring burnout is derived from urban settings and may not reflect the work and social contexts of physicians in Indigenous communities or in rural and resource-constrained areas. We sought to characterize health system factors that influence burnout among physicians practicing in the three northern territories of Canada.
methodsWe conducted a mixed-methods study that included an online survey and qualitative interviews with physicians practicing in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, or Yukon in 2019. The survey adapted content from the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results were analyzed with logistic regression to assess the association between health system factors and burnout. We conducted in-depth interviews with 14 physicians. Qualitative data was coded and analyzed for themes using the ATLAS.ti software.
resultsThirty-nine percent of survey respondents (n = 22/57) showed features associated with burnout. Factors associated with burnout included use of electronic medical records (β = - 0.7, p < .05), inadequate financial remuneration (β = - 1.0, p < .05), and cross-cultural issues (β = - 1.1, p < .05). Qualitative analysis further identified physician perceptions of lack of influence over health system policies, systemic failures in cultural safety, discontinuity of care, administrative burden, and physician turnover as important drivers of burnout.
conclusionsPhysicians practicing in northern regions in Canada experience stress and burnout related to health system factors and cross-cultural issues. The relationship between cross-cultural issues and burnout has not previously been reported. This work may have implications for physician wellbeing and workforce attrition in other resource-constrained or culturally diverse clinical settings.
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