Burnout among anesthesia personnel in Thailand: A national survey of workload, personality traits, and resilience

BACKGROUND: Burnout is a critical issue affecting anesthesia personnel, with implications for both provider well-being and patient safety. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of high-risk burnout among anesthesia providers in Thailand and identify associated demographic, occupational, and psychological predictors. METHODS: A national cross-sectional survey was conducted among anesthesia personnel in Thailand. Burnout was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS), with high-risk burnout defined by emotional exhaustion ≥27 and depersonalization ≥10. Personality traits were measured using the 20-item Mini International Personality Item Pool (Mini-IPIP), which evaluates five domains: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (scored from 1 to 5). Resilience was assessed using the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), with total scores ranging from 0 to 40 and participants categorized into quartiles. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent predictors. RESULTS: Of the 613 responses received, 593 were included in the final analysis. High-risk burnout was identified in 262 participants (44.2%). The high-risk group had significantly higher neuroticism scores (mean 4.11 ± 0.81) and lower scores for conscientiousness (4.21 ± 0.69), extraversion (3.72 ± 0.82), and agreeableness (4.39 ± 0.78) compared to the non-burnout group. No significant difference was found in openness scores. Regarding resilience, most high-risk participants (76.3%) fell within the lowest CD-RISC-10 quartile (score range 0-29). Independent predictors of high-risk burnout included higher self-reported burnout severity (adjusted OR 3.84, 95% CI: 2.70-5.47), intention to leave the current role (OR 1.73, 95% CI: 1.21-2.47), higher neuroticism (OR 1.28, 95% CI: 1.13-1.46), and lower resilience (OR 0.70, 95% CI: 0.50-0.99). Other factors such as younger age and frequent night shifts were significant in univariable analysis but not in the final adjusted model. CONCLUSION: Burnout is prevalent among Thai anesthesia personnel and is strongly associated with individual psychological characteristics-particularly higher neuroticism and lower resilience. These findings support the implementation of targeted interventions such as resilience-building programs, psychological screening, and workload management to reduce burnout risk in anesthesia practice.