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BackgroundAssessing burnout in physicians is relevant as it can adversely affect both their mental and physical health by also decreasing the quality of care, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed at standardizing the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), a psychometrically sound, worldwide-spread tool, in Italian physicians.MethodsNine-hundred and fifteen Italian physicians were web-administered the CBI, Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE). The present CBI is a self-report questionnaire including 18 Likert items (range=19-90) assessing Personal, Work-related and Client-related Burnout. Client-related adaptation was performed. Construct validity, factorial structure (Confirmatory Factor Analysis) and internal consistency were tested. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed simultaneously against the PHQ-8, GAD-7 and GSE.ResultsAll CBI measures yielded optimal internal consistency (Cronbach’s α=.90-.96). The CBI met its original three-factor model (CFI=.94; TLI=.93; RMSEA=.09; SRMR=.04), was positively related with the PHQ-8 (r=.76) and GAD-7 (r.=73), whereas negatively with the GSE (r=-.39), and yielded optimal diagnostics (AUC=.93; sensitivity=.91 and specificity=.85 at the optimal cut-off of 69/90).DiscussionThe CBI is a valid, reliable and normed tool to assess burnout levels in physicians, whose use is encouraged in both clinical practice and research as being short-lived, easy to use and openly accessible.

Purpose Several studies investigated prevalence and determinants of physicians’ burnout during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, but only a few during the chronic phase of the pandemic. This study thus aimed to examine this topic referring to the “post-COVID-19 era”, defined as a chronic and likely-to-be endemic status quo. Methods A cross-sectional, online survey (November 2021–January 2022) was addressed to physicians in Lombardia (Northern Italy). Besides socio-demographic and COVID-19-related data, measures of personal, work- and patient-related burnout (Copenhagen Burnout Inventory; CBI), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-8), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-7), and self-efficacy (General Self-Efficacy Scale) were collected. Linear/generalized linear models were run to test associations/predictions of interest. Results Among the 958 respondents, burnout symptoms were clinically significant in 18.5% of them. Predictive models showed that female sex (OR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.42–1.27), younger age (OR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.59–1.48), shorter job tenure (OR = 1.01, 95% CI 0.62–1.65), trainee status (OR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.16–7.10), higher PHQ-8 (OR = 1.260, 95% CI 1.16–1.37), and GAD-7 scores (OR = 1.19, 95% CI 1.10–1.30) increased the risk to suffer from clinical burnout. COVID-19-related variables were mostly not related/associated to burnout levels. Conclusion In Italy, physicians’ burnout is moderately prevalent also in the chronic phase of the pandemic, with its determinants being more intrinsic than environmental. The development of effective interventions is needed to help physicians cope with the new challenges of their job.