https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244338

Background Burnout has adverse implications in healthcare settings, compromising patient care. Allied health professionals (AHPs) are defined as individuals who work collaboratively to deliver routine and essential healthcare services, excluding physicians and nurses. There is a lack of studies on burnout among AHPs in Singapore. This study explored factors associated with a self-reported burnout level and barriers to seeking psychological help among AHPs in Singapore. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study in a sample of AHPs in a tertiary hospital from October to December 2019. We emailed a four-component survey to 1127 eligible participants. The survey comprised four components: (1) sociodemographic characteristics, (2) Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-HSS), (3) Areas of Worklife Survey, and (4) Perceived Barriers to Psychological Treatment (PBPT). We performed a multiple logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with burnout. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed. Results In total, 328 participants completed the questionnaire. The self-reported burnout level (emotional exhaustion>27 and/or depersonalization>10) was 67.4%. The majority of the respondents were female (83.9%), Singaporean (73.5%), aged 40 years and below (84.2%), and Chinese ethnicity (79.9%). In the multiple logistic regression model, high burnout level was negatively associated with being in the age groups of 31 to 40 (AOR 0.39, 95% CI 0.16–0.93) and 40 years and older (AOR 0.30, 95% CI 0.10–0.87) and a low self-reported workload (AOR 0.35, 95% CI 0.23–0.52). High burnout level was positively associated with a work experience of three to five years (AOR 5.27, 95% CI 1.44–20.93) and more than five years (AOR 4.24; 95% CI 1.16–16.79. One hundred and ninety participants completed the PBPT component. The most frequently cited barriers to seeking psychological help by participants with burnout (n = 130) were ‘negative evaluation of therapy’ and ‘time constraints.’ Conclusions This study shows a high self-reported burnout level and identifies its associated factors among AHPs in a tertiary hospital. The findings revealed the urgency of addressing burnout in AHPs and the need for effective interventions to reduce burnout. Concurrently, proper consideration of the barriers to seeking help is warranted to improve AHPs’ mental wellbeing.

Low-wage Tamil migrant workers have long been contributing to Singapore's economy. Despite labouring there for three decades and being connected to the existing Tamil diasporic community in Singapore, they have been left out of both state rhetoric and society, often due to claims of transience. However, a fatal traffic accident in the locality of Singapore's Little India in December 2013 involving a Tamil migrant worker that morphed into a riot has again brought the problems of these men and their presence within the vicinity of Little India to the fore. This paper is based on a wider ethnographic study of a group of Tamil migrant workers from the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu who were working in Singapore in 2012. The homely feelings experienced by the migrant workers highlight their feelings of homesickness vis-à-vis the need for a sense of belonging felt amongst transnational male migrant workers. On the other hand, practices that make the space unhomely for them not only illustrate their social position but will also lead to to the study of the governmentality of migration and control of migrant bodies.