The relationship between burnout and empathy in physiotherapists: a cross-sectional study

Background: There have been few studies carried out into empathy in physiotherapists. Burnout can debilitate the quality of care and the efficacy of treatment as the empathetic capacity of the professional diminishes. Objective: The objective of the study was to examine the association between the c...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Rodríguez-Nogueira, Òscar, Leirós Rodríguez, Raquel, Pinto Carral, Arrate, Álvarez-Álvarez, Maria José, Fernández-Martínez, Elena, Moreno Poyato, Antonio Rafael
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Recursos:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/184756
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/184756
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Empatia
Síndrome d'esgotament professional
Fisioteràpia
Relacions psicoterapeuta-pacient
Empathy
Burn out (Psychology)
Physical therapy
Psychotherapist and patient
Descrição
Resumo:Background: There have been few studies carried out into empathy in physiotherapists. Burnout can debilitate the quality of care and the efficacy of treatment as the empathetic capacity of the professional diminishes. Objective: The objective of the study was to examine the association between the construct burnout, empathy and sociodemographic aspects in Spanish physiotherapists. Methods: A cross-sectional electronic survey including the Maslach Burnout Inventory (for burnout assessment), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (for empathy assessment) and sociodemographic data was answered by 461 Spanish physical therapists. A descriptive, bivariate and lineal regression analysis was performed. Results: There was an association between burnout and empathy. Specifically, higher levels of burnout are associated with lower levels of empathy, whilst years of work experience is associated with lower levels of burnout. Conclusions: The results of this study contribute to a greater understanding of the relationship between the level of burnout and the dimensions of empathy in physiotherapists. The influence of burnout, which causes difficulties in the mobilization of the professional towards the establishment of a quality therapeutic relationship, is highlighted.