Influencing Factors and Management of Occupational Burnout Among Clinical Research Associates in China

Objective We firstly assessed the extent and nature of occupational burnout among clinical research associates (CRAs) in China for the first time, and evaluated influencing factors in view of developing effective countermeasures. Methods CRAs were evaluated using the Maslach Burnout Inventory and a self-designed questionnaire. Detected occupational burnout was used as the index. We examined possible influencing factors of burnout using wilcoxon rank test, KW rank and Spearman correlation analysis; influencing factors were screened out with multivariate ordinal logistic regression modelling. Results Overall, 438 surveys were completed. Results indicated that 82.2% of participating CRAs had some degree of job burnout; among those, 19.9% had mild burnout, 49.8% had moderate burnout, and 12.5% had severe burnout. A total of 76.7% suffered from emotional exhaustion, 65.5% experienced depersonalization, and 15.3% felt a low sense of accomplishment. For all categories of burnout, statistically significant influencing factors were: work mode, working hours, whether the hospital provided work support and likelihood of promotion (p . Conclusion Occupational burnout was common among Chinese CRAs. To alleviate this situation and ensure the quality of clinical trials, companies and hospitals should take effective measures to establish support systems involving both hardware and software.