Effect of experience in lean principles on professional burnout in healthcare workers: A single-center prospective survey study

Background. Lean principles are currently driving the development of primary healthcare, allowing organizations to reduce waste and address operational issues, as well as decrease the risk of burnout in healthcare workers. Professional burnout is a widely recognized workplace problem in both rich and poor countries, posing a serious threat not only to the social and professional lives of physicians but also to the health of their patients. Lean principles aim to improve the operational efficiency of healthcare organizations. Workforce optimization allows healthcare workers to better perform their duties, preventing (or mitigating) factors that contribute to professional burnout, and helps ensure the required accessibility and quality of healthcare.
Objective. To analyze the relationship between the experience of healthcare workers in lean principles and the level of professional burnout among employees of healthcare organizations under modern conditions.
Methods. A single-center prospective survey study was conducted based on a questionnaire survey completed by 201 healthcare workers from organizations providing primary care. In the study, the authors used an original questionnaire entitled “Lean Competencies of Healthcare Professionals,” as well as the burnout assessment tool developed by Christina Maslach and Susan Jackson and adapted for physicians by Natalia Vodopyanova (Attitude to Work and Professional Burnout). The survey was carried out using Online Test Pad, a multifunctional online service for conducting tests and training. The main focus of the study was to assess statistically significant correlations between the level of professional burnout in healthcare workers and their experience in lean principles. In order to assess the level of burnout among healthcare workers, the authors used a validated procedure developed by Natalia Vodopyanova, which is based on Maslach and Jackson’s three-dimensional model of burnout, comparing the results with those of a survey aimed at evaluating the experience in lean principles. The study results were statistically analyzed using IMB SPSS Statistics software (version 23; StatSoft, USA). The results were considered statistically significant at p < 0.05.
Results. The study revealed that as healthcare workers gain experience in lean projects, they experience lower levels of professional burnout. Participation in project teams working to improve healthcare organizations was inversely correlated with emotional exhaustion, work-related stress, lack of on-the-job development, and low overall self-esteem: healthcare workers with a greater commitment to lean principles suffered less from reduced personal accomplishment, which is part of professional burnout.
Conclusion. Further research into the relationship between the application of lean principles in medicine and the level of professional burnout among healthcare workers could improve the quality of healthcare and workforce productivity in this industry.

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