PHS outcomes with an interview study into GP recovery from burnout
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Outcomes from the Practitioner Health Service with an interview study into GP recovery from burnout. There are two parts to this study, the titles for each are below: For documents exploring outcomes from the PHS - "Outcomes from the Practitioner Health Service" For documents as part of the qualitative investigation - "Recovery from burnout: an interview study"
IRAS ID
265031
Contact name
Tina Cartwright
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Westminster
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 31 days
Research summary
The Practitioner Health Service (PHS) has provided confidential support for doctors with mental illness over the last decade. Within this, doctor wellbeing is measured at the entry assessment and re-assessments at 6-month intervals. A six-month pilot study has shown promising results for the service effectiveness. This study aims to extend this pilot study by completing an evaluation of the PHS over a year.
The PHS will anonymise the data collected from consenting doctors (provided within their registration form) which a research team at the University of Westminster will analyse. Participants will not be asked to complete any tasks above those which are required as routine. This evaluation will support an evidence-based approach to PHS delivery, improve our understanding of the effectiveness of the PHS and potentially highlight areas which need to be improved.
Within the PHS, the GP Health Service was established in 2017. General practitioners (GPs) are reported to be experiencing unprecedented pressures in their role. Consequently, there has been an increase in prevalence of poor wellbeing, with 50% of GPs experiencing burnout. Burnout is characterised by emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation (reduced empathy and extreme detachment) and lack of personal accomplishment. There is some debate regarding the process of burnout recovery and whether full recovery can be reached. No research to date has explored GP’s stories of burnout recovery, therefore the second part of this research aims to explore this.
GPs who have accessed the PHS will be invited to participate in an interview (lasting approximately 60-90 minutes) for which GPs will be asked to provide photographs, which speak to their recovery, to be disused. Six to 14 eligible and interested GPs, those who self-identify as having recovered from burnout, will be interviewed. This will improve our understanding of recovery from GP burnout and help inform and improve provided interventions.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EE/0308
Date of REC Opinion
10 Dec 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion