Non-pharmacological interventions for burnout syndrome management

Intervenciones no farmacológicas para el manejo del síndrome de burnout

Introduction: the burnout syndrome is characterized by symptoms of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion and low professional fulfillment. Burnout prevalence in Colombia in 2020 was 14.9%, with a risk of presentation of 40.9%, making it necessary to identify all non-´pharmacological strategies which would help decrease and prevent it. Objective: to identify the evidence of non-pharmacological interventions for addressing burn-out syndrome, over the last 7 years. Methods: a 10-month online search, for articles in English, Spanish and French, only on non-pharmacological interventions for burn-out syndrome among older than 18 non-healthcare personnel, was initiated in June 2021. A database containing the bibliographic references and abstracts of 22 studies selected to analyze the results which had the greatest impact on addressing burnout, was created. Results: non-pharmacological interventions were divided into those centered on the individual and those associated with the level of burnout prevention. Personalized psychosocial interventions showed significant results, generating positive attitudes, and improving the development of professional identity. Other effective actions were the practice of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness. Conclusions: rational emotive behavioral training, the multimodal stress management program, mindfulness-based stress reduction and cognitive behavioral therapy, proved to be the most effective strategies for the management of this syndrome.

Keywords: exhaustion, burn-out, non-pharmacological.