Prevalence and associated factors of burnout among postgraduate trainee physicians in Bangladesh: a multicentre cross-sectional study.

Authors

Mohammad Jahid Hasan, Tamanna Tabassum, Abdullah Saeed Khan, Mohammad Borhan Uddin, Tanzila Naureen, Muna Islam, Fahmida Islam Chowdhury, Saiful Amin, Sharmin Akter, Zahin Shahriar, Ibrahim Khalil, Sabrina Monsur, Umme Salma Binte Islam, Anamica Dev, Koushik Roy, Shouvik Roy Subha, Sharmeen Yasmeen

Published in

BMJ open. Volume 16. Issue 9. Pages e116674. Sep 24, 2026. Epub Sep 24, 2026.

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of burnout and its associated factors among postgraduate trainee physicians in Bangladesh.
A multicentre cross-sectional study.
Three public tertiary-care academic institutions across the country (Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Chittagong Medical College Hospital and Rangpur Medical College Hospital).
Study participants were 703 postgraduate trainee physicians from the Departments of Medicine, Surgery and Gynaecology & Obstetrics who were undergoing training programmes entitled Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (FCPS), Doctor of Medicine/Master of Surgery (MD/MS) and Diploma/Master of Philosophy (MPhil).
Burnout was assessed using the Abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory, which evaluates burnout through three domains: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalisation (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA). In this study, weighted prevalence estimates were calculated where burnout was defined as a high EE score (≥9) combined with either a high DP score (≥6) or a low PA score (<12).
The mean age was 30.9±3.6 (SD) years, with females comprising 56% of participants. Studied postgraduate trainees were enrolled in FCPS (62.2%), MD/MS (27.2%) and Diploma/MPhil (10.6%) courses. Overall, the prevalence of burnout was 70%, with high EE (68.3%), high DP (57.8%) and low PA (94.7%). Univariate analysis showed burnout was significantly associated with shorter sleep duration (<7 hours: 74.9% vs ≥7 hours: 61.4%, p<0.001) and lack of additional employment (73.5% vs 65.5%, p=0.036). However, multivariate logistic regression showed only shorter sleep duration was the independent predictor of burnout (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.25 to 2.69, p=0.002).
This study demonstrates a high prevalence of burnout among postgraduate trainee physicians in Bangladesh. Targeted interventions addressing modifiable associated factors-particularly sleep deprivation, financial stress, and work structure-are urgently needed to promote mental well-being and sustain professional performance.

PMID:
42785940
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 25 Sep 2026.

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