Working conditions and ITS effects on health appreciations about the burnout syndrome in police officer from the province of Santiago del Estero

Abstract

The present study seeks to explore the prevalence of the Burnout Syndrome (SBO) and its
relation to the police activity of the Santiago del Estero police personnel. The study design
was epidemiological, mixed, exploratory and descriptive observational. The target population
was composed of 444 police officers from Santiago del Estero who applied for medical leaves
during February and March of the years 2011 and 2012. The work was carried out with a
purposive sampling composed of 96 police officers who met the established criteria and who
voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. 47 of them were part of the GC and 46 of the GE.
In order to enrich the study, an exploratory cluster analysis was carried out to observe groupings
by variable that could have gone unnoticed at first and their relation to the presence or absence
of the SBO. The obtained results indicated that 10 % of them displayed the Burnout Syndrome
and presented a prevalence of mid and low risks of developing the Syndrome, a situation
that allows preventive intervention by applying measures from the healthcare perspective.
The exploration based on cluster analysis showed that the Burnout Syndrome is connected
to matters of the working environment and its conditions. These matters show the need for
institutional intervention and, particularly, those matters related to self realization, which is
related to the level of training and which requires supporting professional development in order
to encourage the instruction of policemen during their careers.