WHO decision on burnout should translate into better working conditions

May 31, 2019

New Delhi, May 31, 2019 :

We should all welcome the decision by the World Health Assembly to include work-related burnout as a problem that influences health status of an individual. The decision was taken during the World Health Assembly in Geneva. healthysoch

Burn-out has been included in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an occupational phenomenon. It is not classified as a medical condition. It is described in the chapter: ‘Factors influencing health status or contact with health services’, which includes reasons for which people contact health services but that are not classed as illnesses or health conditions.

Burn-out has been defined as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”.

It is characterized by:

  • Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
  • Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to ones job; and
  • Reduced professional efficacy.

Burnout among physicians has been largely ignored by everyone for a long time. Emotionally exhausted doctors are a danger to patients and a danger to themselves. The number of suicides among doctors resulting from burnout is a significant problem.

This World Health Assembly’s decision should lead to a new approach that addresses multiple factors including working conditions for doctors around the world’.

Author : Dr KK Aggarwal ,Padma Shri Awardee

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