TABLE 2.
Burnout rate and characteristics of mental health providers in VHA AES, MHPS, MHOC, 2015–2018
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | N | % | N | % | N | % | N | % |
| AES | 7907 | 100 | 8341 | 100 | 8889 | 100 | 10,364 | 100 |
| Burnout | ||||||||
| Yes | 2704 | 34.2 | 2943 | 35.28 | 3282 | 36.92 | 3208 | 30.95 |
| No | 5203 | 65.8 | 5398 | 64.72 | 5607 | 63.08 | 7156 | 69.04 |
| Supervisory role | ||||||||
| None | 5653 | 71.50 | 5758 | 69.03 | 6094 | 68.56 | 7152 | 69.01 |
| Team leader | 1332 | 16.85 | 1301 | 15.6 | 1452 | 16.33 | 1536 | 14.82 |
| First line supervisor | 632 | 7.99 | 797 | 9.56 | 832 | 9.36 | 994 | 9.59 |
| Manager | 265 | 3.35 | 447 | 5.36 | 454 | 5.11 | 613 | 5.91 |
| Executive | 25 | 0.32 | 38 | 0.46 | 57 | 0.64 | 69 | 0.67 |
| PACT team | ||||||||
| Yes | 863 | 10.91 | 898 | 10.77 | 994 | 11.18 | 1141 | 11.01 |
| No | 7044 | 89.09 | 7443 | 89.23 | 7895 | 88.82 | 9223 | 88.99 |
| Teach or supervise health professions trainees | ||||||||
| Yes | 3514 | 44.44 | 3682 | 44.14 | 3965 | 44.61 | 4618 | 44.56 |
| No | 4393 | 55.56 | 4659 | 55.86 | 4924 | 55.39 | 5746 | 55.44 |
| Faculty appointment | ||||||||
| None | 6469 | 81.81 | 6876 | 82.44 | 7343 | 82.61 | 8530 | 82.30 |
| Professor | 119 | 1.51 | 107 | 1.28 | 142 | 1.6 | 166 | 1.60 |
| Associate Professor | 238 | 3.01 | 286 | 3.43 | 291 | 3.27 | 362 | 3.49 |
| Assistant Professor | 605 | 7.65 | 596 | 7.15 | 627 | 7.05 | 787 | 7.59 |
| Lecturer or instructor | 73 | 0.92 | 282 | 3.38 | 306 | 3.44 | 323 | 3.12 |
| Other | 403 | 5.1 | 194 | 2.33 | 180 | 2.03 | 196 | 1.89 |
| MHPS | 4510 | 100 | 5258 | 100 | 5664 | 100 | 6464 | 100 |
| Burnout | ||||||||
| Yes | 1534 | 34.01 | 1995 | 37.94 | 2104 | 37.15 | 2456 | 38 |
| No | 2976 | 66 | 3263 | 62.1 | 3560 | 62.9 | 4008 | 62.01 |
| Licensed independent provider | ||||||||
| Yes | 3685 | 81.71 | 4421 | 84.08 | 4712 | 83.19 | 5295 | 81.92 |
| No | 825 | 18.29 | 837 | 15.92 | 952 | 16.81 | 1169 | 18.08 |
| Type of mental health services provided | ||||||||
| Inpatient | 176 | 3.9 | 237 | 4.51 | 239 | 4.22 | 242 | 3.74 |
| Outpatient | 3197 | 70.87 | 3774 | 71.78 | 4076 | 71.96 | 4806 | 74.35 |
| Both inpatient and outpatient | 1137 | 25.21 | 1247 | 23.72 | 1349 | 23.82 | 1416 | 21.91 |
| Discipline | ||||||||
| Psychiatrist | 795 | 17.63 | 876 | 16.66 | 901 | 15.91 | 936 | 14.48 |
| Psychologist | 1379 | 30.58 | 1590 | 30.24 | 1839 | 32.47 | 1967 | 30.43 |
| Social worker | 1339 | 29.69 | 1619 | 30.79 | 1700 | 30.01 | 1999 | 30.93 |
| Nursing | 492 | 10.91 | 569 | 10.82 | 593 | 10.45 | 736 | 11.39 |
| Clinical pharmacist a | — | — | 47 | 0.89 | 53 | 1.45 | 65 | 1.01 |
| Addiction therapist a | — | — | 76 | 0.94 | 85 | 1.5 | 92 | 1.42 |
| Peer specialist | 113 | 2.51 | 117 | 2.23 | 130 | 2.3 | 160 | 2.48 |
| Licensed professional mental health counselor | 89 | 1.97 | 102 | 1.94 | 86 | 1.52 | 145 | 2.24 |
| Licensed marriage and family therapist | 13 | 0.29 | 15 | 0.29 | 13 | 0.23 | 28 | 0.43 |
| Other | 290 | 6.43 | 247 | 4.70 | 264 | 4.66 | 336 | 5.20 |
| BHIP member | ||||||||
| Yes | 1807 | 40.07 | 2087 | 39.69 | 2255 | 39.81 | 2819 | 43.61 |
| No | 2703 | 59.93 | 3171 | 60.31 | 3409 | 60.19 | 3645 | 56.39 |
| MHOC (facility‐level, N = 140 in each year) | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD |
| Staffing ratio b | 7.46 | 1.73 | 7.36 | 1.61 | 7.46 | 1.73 | 7.36 | 1.61 |
| Productivity | 398.78 | 70.80 | 451.88 | 74.68 | 398.78 | 70.80 | 451.88 | 74.68 |
Abbreviations: AES, All Employee Survey; BHIP, Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program; MHOC, Mental Health Onboard Clinical; MHPS, Mental Health Provider Survey; PACT, Patient Aligned Care Team; VHA, Veterans Health Administration.
a
Answer choices absent in 2015 MHPS survey.
b
<6.00 = critical; 6.01–7.72 = moderate; >7.72 = good.