O2058: Authenticity is Protective Against Burnout, Depression, and Suicidal Ideation in Pediatricians.

Background: Physician burnout, depression, and suicidal ideation continue to be faced by pediatricians at alarming rates. Emerging data indicates a potential role for authenticity in mitigating burnout, depression, and suicidal risk. Authenticity is being true to one’s core self in all situations, relationships, and roles. Focusing on faculty pediatricians and pediatric trainees, this study assesses the impact of authenticity on burnout, depression, and suicidal risk, offering hope for future interventions.

Methods: Members of the department of Pediatrics at a large academic Level 1 trauma medical center completed anonymous surveys between September to November 2023. The survey included the Authenticity Scale to assess authenticity, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9) to assess depression, the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) to assess burnout, and the Ask-Suicide Screening Questions (ASQ) tool to assess suicidality. The Authenticity Scale was scored as three domains: authentic living (AL), accepting external influence (AEI), and self-alienation (SA) to further characterize the relationships.

Results: Of the 270 pediatricians in the department, 197 (73%) completed the survey. Higher AL scores correlated with reduced burnout (r=-0.21, p=0.0002) and depression (r=-0.31, p< 0.0001). Conversely, higher AEI scores were associated with increased burnout (r=0.33, p< 0.0001) and depression (r=0.35, p< 0.0001). Higher SA scores were similarly associated with increased burnout (r=0.41, p< 0.0001) and depression (r=0.59, p< 0.0001). Higher SA scores were also indicative of an increased suicidal risk (r=0.25, p=0.0006). Specific AEI and SA questions yielded an elevated odds ratio (p=0.0003, p=0.008, p=0.009, p=0.002) of suicidal risk. AL increased with advancement in professional rank (p=0.0006), while AEI (p=0.007), SA (p=0.002), depression (p=0.004) and burnout (p=0.032) decreased with rank. Suicidal risk was not impacted by rank (p=0.133).

Conclusion: In this study, higher authenticity was associated with a lower likelihood of burnout, depression, and suicidal risk among pediatricians. This study contributes valuable insights for the development of targeted interventions and support mechanisms utilizing authenticity to enhance well-being within pediatric physicians.