COMPARISON OF ACADEMIC BURNOUT SYNDROME IN REHABILITATION SCIENCES STUDENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71000/a9my2d59Keywords:
Burnout, Academic Stress, Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology, Undergraduate StudentsAbstract
Background: Burnout is a psychological syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment. While traditionally associated with professionals, growing evidence indicates that students—particularly those in demanding academic disciplines—are also at risk. Academic burnout among healthcare students can compromise learning outcomes, mental health, and future clinical performance. Despite increasing recognition of burnout in medical education, limited research has addressed its prevalence among students in rehabilitation sciences such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology.
Objective: To measure and compare academic burnout across different disciplines of rehabilitation sciences, evaluating domain-specific prevalence and demographic associations.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted over six months using a purposive sampling technique. The calculated sample size was 160 undergraduate students aged 18 to 25 years from PSRD and FMH colleges in Lahore. Participants were enrolled in Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (OT), or Bachelor of Speech and Language Pathology (SLP) programs. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) was modified for academic context and distributed both online and in person. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26, employing descriptive statistics and chi-square tests.
Results: The mean age of participants was 21.55 ± 1.75 years, with 65.6% females and 34.4% males. DPT students comprised 54.4%, OT 23.8%, and SLP 21.9% of the sample. Most participants were in their third to fifth academic years. Prevalence of burnout was highest in the personal domain (75.5%), followed by work-related (68.8%) and client-related burnout (61.3%). The overall rate of moderate to severe burnout was 68.6%. No statistically significant relationship was found between academic discipline and burnout (p>0.05, r<0.5).
Conclusion: A substantial proportion of rehabilitation sciences students experience academic burnout, regardless of their specific discipline. This highlights the need for institutional support and early intervention strategies.
Background: Burnout is a psychological syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment. While traditionally associated with professionals, growing evidence indicates that students—particularly those in demanding academic disciplines—are also at risk. Academic burnout among healthcare students can compromise learning outcomes, mental health, and future clinical performance. Despite increasing recognition of burnout in medical education, limited research has addressed its prevalence among students in rehabilitation sciences such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology.
Objective: To measure and compare academic burnout across different disciplines of rehabilitation sciences, evaluating domain-specific prevalence and demographic associations.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted over six months using a purposive sampling technique. The calculated sample size was 160 undergraduate students aged 18 to 25 years from PSRD and FMH colleges in Lahore. Participants were enrolled in Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (OT), or Bachelor of Speech and Language Pathology (SLP) programs. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) was modified for academic context and distributed both online and in person. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26, employing descriptive statistics and chi-square tests.
Results: The mean age of participants was 21.55 ± 1.75 years, with 65.6% females and 34.4% males. DPT students comprised 54.4%, OT 23.8%, and SLP 21.9% of the sample. Most participants were in their third to fifth academic years. Prevalence of burnout was highest in the personal domain (75.5%), followed by work-related (68.8%) and client-related burnout (61.3%). The overall rate of moderate to severe burnout was 68.6%. No statistically significant relationship was found between academic discipline and burnout (p>0.05, r<0.5).
Conclusion: A substantial proportion of rehabilitation sciences students experience academic burnout, regardless of their specific discipline. This highlights the need for institutional support and early intervention strategies.
References
Jette AM. Addressing Burnout in the Physical Therapy Workforce. Phys Ther. 2023;103(11).
Tjasink M, Keiller E, Stephens M, Carr CE, Priebe S. Art therapy-based interventions to address burnout and psychosocial distress in healthcare workers-a systematic review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2023;23(1):1059.
Gustafsson L, Brown T, Poulsen AA, McKinstry C. Australian occupational therapy academic workforce: An examination of retention, work-engagement, and role overload issues. Scand J Occup Ther. 2023;30(4):452-62.
Toukhsati SR, Kippen R, Taylor C. Burnout and retention of general practice supervisors: Prevalence, risk factors and self-care. Aust J Gen Pract. 2024;53(12 Suppl):S85-s90.
Dincer B, Inangil D. The effect of Emotional Freedom Techniques on nurses' stress, anxiety, and burnout levels during the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trial. Explore (NY). 2021;17(2):109-14.
Udoudo DA, Agu CF, Lawrence ES, Woolcock AMM, Emanuel-Frith M, Kahwa E. Factors Influencing Nurses' Self Care Practices. J Holist Nurs. 2023;41(3):285-93.
McElligott D, Turnier J. Integrative Health and Wellness Assessment Tool. Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am. 2020;32(3):439-50.
Park EY. Meta-Analysis of Factors Associated with Occupational Therapist Burnout. Occup Ther Int. 2021;2021:1226841.
Goffredo CA, Bowyer P, Reis HIS, Humphrey J. Pediatric Occupational Therapists and Occupational Stress: A Scoping Review. Occup Ther Health Care. 2024;38(3):827-41.
O'Malley M, Happell B, O'Mahony J. A Phenomenological Understanding of Mental Health Nurses' Experiences of Self-Care: A Review of the Empirical Literature. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2022;43(12):1121-9.
Shin J, McCarthy M, Schmidt C, Zellner J, Ellerman K, Britton M. Prevalence and Predictors of Burnout Among Occupational Therapy Practitioners in the United States. Am J Occup Ther. 2022;76(4).
Hussain FA. Psychological challenges for nurses working in palliative care and recommendations for self-care. Br J Nurs. 2021;30(8):484-9.
De Andrade VM, Da Silva C, Israel N. South African speech-language therapists' and audiologists' professional quality of life. S Afr J Commun Disord. 2024;71(1):e1-e9.
Brooke T, Brown M, Orr R, Gough S. Stress and burnout: exploring postgraduate physiotherapy students' experiences and coping strategies. BMC Med Educ. 2020;20(1):433.
Hartmann KK, Solak AM, Średniawa MM, Michalik M. Supervision and occupational burnout among Polish speech therapists. Sci Rep. 2025;15(1):15379.
Monroe C, Loresto F, Horton-Deutsch S, Kleiner C, Eron K, Varney R, et al. The value of intentional self-care practices: The effects of mindfulness on improving job satisfaction, teamwork, and workplace environments. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2021;35(2):189-94.
KOUREA, L., PAPANASTASIOU, E. C., DIACONESCU, L. V. & POPA-VELEA, O. 2023. Academic burnout in psychology and health-allied sciences: the BENDiT-EU program for students and staff in higher education. Frontiers in Psychology, 14.
LIU, Z., XIE, Y., SUN, Z., LIU, D., YIN, H. & SHI, L. 2023. Factors associated with academic burnout and its prevalence among university students: a cross-sectional study. BMC Medical Education, 23, 317.
MOGHADAM, M. T., ABBASI, E. & KHOSHNODIFAR, Z. 2020. Students' academic burnout in Iranian agricultural higher education system: the mediating role of achievement motivation. Heliyon, 6.
POKHREL, N. B., KHADAYAT, R. & TULACHAN, P. 2020. Depression, anxiety, and burnout among medical students and residents of a medical school in Nepal: a cross-sectional study. BMC Psychiatry, 20, 298.
ROMANO, L., CONSIGLIO, P., ANGELINI, G. & FIORILLI, C. 2021. Between academic resilience and burnout: the moderating role of satisfaction on school context relationships. European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education, 11, 770-780.
TIKKANEN, L., ANTTILA, H., PYHÄLTÖ, K., SOINI, T. & PIETARINEN, J. 2022. The role of empathy between peers in upper secondary students’ study engagement and burnout. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 978546.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Tarab Rasool, M. Usama Sohail, Kashaf Shahbaz, Tamkeen Abid, Sawera Sareer, Fatima Saifullah, Samama Abdul Rehman (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
