Teamwork and its relationship with burnout in a public hospital in Colombia

Abstract

Introduction. A relationship between teamwork and burnout in health workers has been described; variables are that also associated with patient safety.
Aim. To describe and determine the relationship between teamwork and burnout perceived by health workers from a tertiary-level hospital in Colombia.
Materials and methods. TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Perceptions Questionnaire, Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, and questionnaire to collect demographic and employment data. Cross-sectional observational analytical study. A demonstration was performed for convenience, in which 510 subjects participated in the study. The data was collected digitally. Descriptive analyzes were carried out, and teamwork and burnout were compared between units, by occupation, and according to the average working hours per week. Finally, correlation matrices were calculated with the scores of both tests.
Results. Teamwork was moderate to high. 31.4% of workers reported moderate or high levels of burnout. No significant differences by sex or unit were found. T-TPQ and the CBI were correlated with a low and moderate strength of association, showing an inverse relationship between them.
Conclusion. Teamwork and burnout may have an inverse relationship, in which better teamwork is perceived as less fatigue in health workers. The results of this study should be interpreted with caution due to potential biases.