P-02 The Prevalence and Factors Associated with Burnout among Medical Laboratory Professionals in Georgetown, Guyana

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 171(47 male, 124 female) participants, with a mean age of 28.4 (sd=7.12) years. Data about their demographic characteristics, some psychosocial measures (perceived stress, and resilience), characteristics about their job and burnout were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Burnout, the outcome variable, was measured using the burnout assessment tool (BAT) and a burnout score was calculated. Risk factor evaluation was done via comparison of means and regression analysis.

Results: The findings show that a significant proportion of MLPs working in Georgetown Guyana were either at risk for burnout (26.3%) or burnt out (47.9%). Mean comparison analysis showed that males, persons who did not identify as Christians, persons who worked in public medical laboratories, and persons who have to commute to work by crossing the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) had significantly (p<0.05) higher burnout score than females, persons who identified as Christians, persons who worked in private laboratories and persons who did not have to commute to work by crossing the DHB respectively. Regression analysis showed that there were significantly negative correlations between age (r=-0.2221, p=0.004), resilience (r=-0.2530, p=0.001), and job satisfaction (r=-0.5185, p<0.001). There was a significant positive correlation (r=0.6564, p<0.001) between perceived stress and the burnout score.

Conclusion: The results suggest many MLPs working in Georgetown Guyana have high rates of burnout. Since there is a significant association between burnout and quality of