Determinants of Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) members' burnout and its relationship with patient-centered care

Abstract

Burnout is a prevalent issue among healthcare providers affecting up to 54% of physicians and 35% of nurses. Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) is a team-based primary care delivery model designed to assure the delivery of high-quality care while improving clinicians' well-being. Limited studies evaluated the relationship between work environment variables and PACT members' burnout and the relationship between PACT members' burnout and patient-centered care. This cross-sectional study is based on the 2018 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) national web-based PACT survey. Burnout was measured using a single-item question that was validated in previous studies. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Fifty-one percent of primary care providers and 40.12% of nurses reported high burnout. PACT members with a work environment characterized by high-quality team interaction, leadership support, and psychological safety experienced lower levels of burnout. PACT members' burnout explained 6% of the variance in PACT members' ability to deliver patient-centered care. Burnout among PACT members is attributed to multiple personal and occupational variables. This study identified modifiable work environment variables that can be used to inform burnout interventions.