Canadian public health physicians describe burnout and paths to recovery

Burnout among Canadian public health physicians intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the personal and systemic forces behind it have rarely been examined in depth. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews between July and August 2024, recruiting participants from a 2024 national survey of public health physician leaders and residents.

The interviews, held in English or French by phone or video, were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis in NVivo 14. Coding followed a primarily deductive approach informed by the interview guide, with inductive codes added as new themes emerged from the data. This design allowed the team to capture both the factors participants expected to discuss and unexpected influences that surfaced during conversation.

The analysis showed that burnout was shaped by factors operating at both the individual and systems levels. At the individual level, contributors included knowledge and skills deficiencies, work-related stressors, personal life stressors, disrupted coping strategies, and a perceived lack of self-efficacy.

Not everything the participants described was corrosive. The study also identified mitigating factors that buffered physicians against burnout. Individually, these included prior training and work experience, stress management at work, privilege, personal coping strategies and social support, and perceived lack of self-efficacy. At the systems level, a safe workspace and a supportive organizational culture emerged as protective influences. The interplay between these contributors and buffers suggests that burnout in this workforce is not simply a matter of personal resilience but of the conditions surrounding daily public health work.

Participants proposed four overarching strategies for addressing burnout: building capacity and resilience, decreasing bureaucracy to improve workflow efficiency, creating healthier and safer work environments, and advocating for recognition and prioritization of public health. These strategies span the personal, organizational, and political spheres, reflecting the participants’ view that no single intervention can address a problem rooted in multiple levels of the system.

The authors conclude that burnout among Canadian public health physicians during the pandemic reflected cumulative system strain, insufficient emergency preparedness, and chronic underinvestment in public health infrastructure. While individual coping and experience offered some protection, they argue that sustainable solutions must address the organizational and structural drivers of burnout rather than relying on individual-level fixes alone.

Subject of Research: Qualitative study of burnout and recovery among Canadian public health physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic

Article Title: Rebuilding wellbeing in public health: a qualitative study of physician burnout and recovery in Canada

Article References: Sun, X., Yassa, P., Fatima, S. A., Hao, X. Y. C., Alvarez, E., Anderson, L. N., Malkin, I., Singh, J., Apatu, E., Piggott, T., Belita, E., Boamah, S. A., & Hopkins, J. P. (2026). Rebuilding wellbeing in public health: a qualitative study of physician burnout and recovery in Canada. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-29861-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-026-29861-1

Keywords: public health, physician burnout, qualitative research, COVID-19, Canada, workforce resilience, thematic analysis, occupational health, public health physicians, organizational culture, Rebuilding, wellbeing