Keywords: burnout, Psychosocial Support

Background:

Burnout among family physicians is a significant issue that can affect both physician well-being and patient care quality. While its association with job dissatisfaction and medical errors is known, its impact on patients’ perception of psychosocial support remains underexplored. In primary care, psychosocial support is central to both patient-centered care and holistic practice. Understanding how physician burnout influences this perception can inform efforts to support both doctors and their patients.

Research questions:

Does a higher level of burnout among family physicians relate to lower levels of psychosocial support perceived by patients in primary care settings?

Method:

We propose a cross-sectional mixed-methods study involving 30 family physicians from three major regions of Istanbul. Burnout levels will be measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). For each physician, 10 patients will complete the Patient–Doctor Relationship Questionnaire (PDRQ-9) to assess perceived psychosocial support. Additionally, each patient will respond to semi-structured open-ended questions. Patients will be systematically selected as those scheduled immediately before the physician’s lunch break. Quantitative data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and Spearman correlation between MBI subscale scores and average PDRQ-9 scores. Qualitative data will be analyzed thematically.

Results:

A negative correlation is expected between emotional exhaustion and patient-perceived psychosocial support. In particular, higher scores in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization may be associated with lower PDRQ-9 ratings. Thematic analysis is expected to reveal patients’ perceptions regarding emotional connection, communication quality, and overall engagement during consultations, offering complementary insights to the quantitative findings.

Conclusions:

This study aims to reveal how physician burnout affects psychosocial aspects of the doctor–patient relationship. Results may support evidence-based approaches to improving physician well-being and enhancing the quality of primary care.

Points for discussion:

In this study, physician and patient sampling was planned using fixed numbers and time-based selection. What could be a more effective approach to improve representativeness and reduce sampling bias at both the physician and patient levels?

In this study, confounding variables such as age, gender, or education level of both physicians and patients were not controlled. What kind of methodological approach could help reduce or account for the effects of these variables?

In this study, psychosocial support is assessed solely through patients’ perceptions. Do you think excluding the physician perspective may limit a comprehensive understanding of the concept? How could physician-reported data enhance the interpretation of this relationship?