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Article de recherche

Burnout syndrome and associated factors among university teaching

staff in Cameroon: Effect of the practice of sport and physical
activities and leisures
Syndrome du itburnout et facteurs associés chez les enseignants d’universités au
Cameroun : effets de la pratique des activités physiques et sportives et des loisirs
P.T. Moueleu Ngalagou a,b , P.B. Assomo-Ndemba a , L.J. Owona Manga a,c ,
H. Owoundi Ebolo a , C.N. Ayina Ayina a , M.-Y. Lobe Tanga a , W.R. Guessogo a,d ,
J. Mekoulou Ndongo a , A. Temfemo a , S.H. Mandengue a,∗
a
Exercise and Sport Physiology and Medicine Unit, University of Douala, PO Box 7064 Logbessou, Bassa, Douala, Cameroon
b
Institut Universitaire du Golfe de Guinée, Douala, Cameroon
c
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Douala, Cameroon
d
National Institute of Youth and Sport, University of Yaounde I, Cameroon

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Objectives. – This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology of burnout syndrome among university
Received 17 April 2018 teaching staff in Cameroon; and to establish if the practice of physical activities and leisures could have
Accepted 15 July 2018 preventive effect.
Available online xxx
Methods. – A cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire on socio-demographic charac-
teristics, socio-professional conditions, Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educator Survey (MBI-ES) to evaluate
Keywords: burnout syndrome, and Ricci-Gagnon metrics to assess level of physical activities practice among grades
Burnout syndrome
of teaching staff, in the various faculties of the University of Douala, Cameroon.
Occupational exhaustion
University teaching staff
Results. – Three hundreds and three teaching staff members aged 43 ± 7 years were included (69%
Physical activities and sports males). The prevalence of burnout syndrome was 68%, distributed within the three dimensions as fol-
Leisures lows: emotional exhaustion (15.2%), depersonalization (32.1%) and loss of personal accomplishment
(22.1%), with 57% low level, 38% moderate and 6% severe. Burnout affected respectively 55.4% lectur-
ers, 38.3% senior lecturers and 6.3% professors. Burnout was significantly associated with poor working
conditions (P = 0.0001), unsatisfactory salary (P = 0.0001), part time teaching in private university institu-
tions (P = 0.027), sensation of strenuous job (P = 0.002), conflict with colleagues (P = 0.028), sedentariness
(P = 0.007). Sport and physical activities showed significant protective effect against burnout (P = 0.004),
the same with leisures (P = 0.016).
Conclusion. – The prevalence burnout syndrome is high among university teaching staff in Cameroon. The
practice of sport and physical activities and leisures has a protective effect against burnout syndrome.
© 2018 L’Encéphale, Paris.

r é s u m é

Mots clés : Contexte/Objectifs. – La demande de services de qualité supérieure a augmenté avec la mondialisa-
Syndrome de burnout tion en cours dans le monde entier. L’environnement socioéconomique est devenu plus compétitif
Epuisement professionnel et exigeant en termes de résultats et de performance. Ces exigences exposent les travailleurs à des
Enseignant d’université vulnérabilités en termes de santé au travail, tels que le stress et le burnout encore connus comme syn-
Activités physiques et sportives
drome d’épuisement professionnel. Certaines investigations ont rapporté que le burnout est maintenant
Loisirs
largement répandu dans plusieurs secteurs ou corps professionnels comme les travailleurs sociaux, les

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: shmandengue@yahoo.fr (S.H. Mandengue).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.encep.2018.07.003
0013-7006/© 2018 L’Encéphale, Paris.

Please cite this article in press as: Moueleu Ngalagou PT, et al. Burnout syndrome and associated factors among uni-
versity teaching staff in Cameroon: Effect of the practice of sport and physical activities and leisures. Encéphale (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.encep.2018.07.003
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conseillers, les enseignants, les infirmières, les laborantins, les orthophonistes, les ergothérapeutes, les
médecins, les dentistes, les policiers et gardiens de prison, les hôtesses de l’air, et même les ménagères
et les étudiants. Nous avons émis l’hypothèse que l’université de Douala, avec environ 6000 étudiants
à son ouverture en 1993, et comptant 45 306 étudiants avec seulement 771 enseignants en 2017, soit
un ratio de 58 étudiants/01 enseignants, sans infrastructures académiques adéquates, les enseignants
pourraient être exposés au burnout. Comme des études ont trouvé et rapporté des effets bénéfiques
préventifs, protecteurs et même thérapeutiques des activités physiques sur de nombreuses affections
et syndromes comme les maladies cardiovasculaires, le diabète, les fonctions cognitives et mentales, le
syndrome métabolique, les cancers, le stress, la dépression, le vieillissement, la démence, nous avons
secondairement émis l’hypothèse que les activités physiques pourraient avoir le même effet bénéfique
sur le personnel enseignant universitaire exposé à l’épuisement professionnel. Cette étude avait pour
but d’évaluer l’épidémiologie du burnout syndrome chez les enseignants d’universités au Cameroun ; et
d’établir si la pratique d’activités physiques et de loisirs peut avoir un effet préventif.
Méthodes. – Étude transversale utilisant un questionnaire auto-administré avec quatre sections sur (a) les
caractéristiques sociodémographiques, notamment : l’âge, le sexe, l’état matrimonial, la distance au lieu
de travail, la durée du déplacement domicile-lieu de travail ; (b) les caractéristiques socioprofessionnelles
et les conditions de travail, notamment : la spécialité, l’ancienneté, le grade, les conditions de travail, le
nombre de cours dispensés, le nombre de niveaux enseignés, le nombre de thèses supervisées par an, le
nombre d’heures consacrées à des tâches administratives par semaine, nombre d’heures de cours donnés
en parallèle dans les instituts universitaires privés, le nombre de week-ends libres par mois, le nombre
de jours de vacances par an, la perception du travail, les conflits professionnels ; (c) le psychomètre
Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES), pour évaluer le burnout syndrome dans ses trois
dimensions : épuisement émotionnel (EE), dépersonnalisation (DP), perte d’accomplissement personnel
(PAP) ; et (d) le questionnaire de Ricci-Gagnon, qui évalue le niveau de pratique des activités physiques
et classe les participants comme inactifs, actifs ou très actifs.
Résultats. – Au total, 303 enseignants âgés de 29 à 62 ans (43 ± 7 ans) ont été inclus (69 % des hommes).
La prévalence du burnout était de 68 %, répartis dans les trois dimensions comme suit : épuisement
émotionnel (15,2 %), dépersonnalisation (32,1 %), perte d’accomplissement personnel (22,1 %), avec 57 %
de faible niveau, 38 % modéré et 6 % sévère. Le burnout a affecté 55,4 % d’enseignants assistants, 38,3 %
de maîtres-assistants et 6,3 % des professeurs. Le burnout était significativement associé aux mauvaises
conditions de travail (p = 0,0001), au salaire insatisfaisant (p = 0,0001), aux vacations dans les institutions
universitaires privées (p = 0,027), à la sensation de travail pénible (p = 0,002), aux conflits avec les collègues
(p = 0,028), à la sédentarité (p = 0,007). La pratique des activités physiques a montré un effet protecteur
significatif contre le burnout (p = 0,04), de même que les loisirs (p = 0,016).
Conclusions. – Le syndrome de burnout a une prévalence élevée chez le personnel enseignant universitaire
au Cameroun avec plusieurs facteurs associés. La pratique des activités physiques et de loisirs a un effet
protecteur contre le syndrome d’épuisement professionnel. L’Asthénie, les douleurs dorsales, les maux
de tête, la méfiance, l’irritabilité, sont les cinq premiers symptômes.
© 2018 L’Encéphale, Paris.

1. Introduction
The demand of high standard quality services has increased with
the on-going globalization worldwide. The socio-economic envi-
ronment has become more competitive and demanding in terms
of results and performance. These requirements expose workers
to occupational health vulnerabilities such as stress and burnout.
Weber and Jaekel-Reinhard [1] qualified burnout syndrome as “a
disease of modern societies” and a challenge to both research and
practice.
Scientists, starting from Freudenberg [2] and Maslach [3] are
still looking for a consensual definition of burnout [1]. Maslach
[3] describe burnout as a tri-dimensional affection with: emotional
exhaustion (EE), depersonalization or dehumanization (DP) and a
decrease or loss of personal accomplishment (LPA) or achievement.
Some investigators reported that burnout syndrome is now
widely sprayed in diverse occupations: in social workers, advisors,
teachers, nurses, laboratory workers, speech therapists, ergo thera-
pists, doctors and dentists, police and prison officers, stewardesses,
managers, and even in housewives and students [1,4]. Goodger
et al. [5] in a systematic review on “burnout in sport” found about
58 publications dealing with burnout on athletes, coaches, athletic
directors, athletic trainers, officials, and sport-center employees.
Rothmann and Barkhuizen [4] found that burnout was more
pervasive in educational occupations. With regards to University
teaching staff, many causes have been identified as being associated
to burnout syndrome: increasing number of demands from stu-
dents, parents and university management lecturers, work related
demand of meeting up deadline given to compile, processing of
results, raising the standard to meet-up with new goals to com-
pete with other universities [6,7]. Caputo [8] identified ten work
related causes of burnout which are common to staff in teach-
ing profession and they include: “lack of professional autonomy,
dealing with the public, conflicts, ambiguity of role, decreased
opportunities for personal accomplishment, inadequate positive
feedback, lack of control over library operations, no-win situa-
tions, continuous heavy workload and stressors in the physical
environment”. According to Lokanadha- Reddy and Poornima [9],
university teaching staffs are under a great deal of stress related to
organizational inefficiency, high staff turnover, absenteeism due to
sickness, decreased quality and quantity of practice, increased costs
of health care, and decreased job satisfaction. Oboegbulem and
Ogbonnaya [10] found that poor working conditions, time pressure
and poor school structures, worries due the family problem and
political climate of the country are some of the sources of burnout
among Nigeria school personnel including university lecturers.
The consequences of burnout syndrome are enormous and
touch physical and the mental health. They include: declines in
mental and physical health, low morale, alcohol and drug addic-
tion [11], weakening of interpersonal relationships, deterioration in

Please cite this article in press as: Moueleu Ngalagou PT, et al. Burnout syndrome and associated factors among uni-
versity teaching staff in Cameroon: Effect of the practice of sport and physical activities and leisures. Encéphale (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.encep.2018.07.003
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teaching and research performance [12,13], increased absenteeism,
desire of leaving the profession [14,15]. A study even observed
that burnout could be view as a “contagious” affection [16]. In fact
Bakker and Schaufeli [16] reported that “teachers who frequently
talked with their burned-out colleagues about problematic stu-
dents had the highest probability of catching the negative attitudes
expressed by their colleagues. In repeatedly trying to understand
the problems their colleagues were facing, teachers presumably
had to tune in to the negative attitudes expressed by their col-
leagues (about themselves and about the students)”.
Considering the consequences of burnout on university teaching
staff, it is of high need to conduct investigations on this syndrome
in all universities. So far, no research had being carried on burnout
among university teaching staff in Cameroon. The aim of this inves-
tigation was therefore to palliate to the lack of data on this question.
We hypothesized that the University of Douala starting with
about 6,000 students at its opening in 1993, and presently count-
ing 45,306 students with only 771 teaching staff members in 2017,
giving a ratio of 58 students/01 teaching staff, without adequate
academic infrastructures, teaching staff members may be exposed
to burnout. As several studies found and reported preventive, pro-
tective and even therapeutic beneficial effects of physical activities
on many affections and syndromes as cardiovascular diseases, dia-
betes, cognitive and brain functions, metabolic syndrome, cancers,
stress, depression, aging, addiction, dementia [17–19], we secondly
hypothesized that physical activities may have the same beneficial
effect on university teaching staff exposed to burnout.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Context and sampling
The University of Douala (the largest in Cameroon in terms of
enrollment) counted 45,306 students registered during 2016–2017
academic year for 771 permanent teaching staff members, giving a
ratio of 58 students/01 teacher. The sample size calculated using the
Lorentz’s formula was 130 participants, with a prevalence of 21%
of burnout found among Tunisian teachers Chennoufi et al. [20]. All
teaching staff members of all academic ranks enrolled at least since
on year were eligible to participate. We excluded all part timers.
Explanations on the purpose of the study were detailed on a
written form to obtain the free consent from participants. Partici-
pants had the right to withdraw from the study at any time. This
study was approved by the Institutional Ethic Committee of the
University of Douala, and received the authorisation of the Regional
Delegate of the Ministry of Public Health. The study was conducted
in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration as revised in 1989.
2.2. Instruments and data collection
Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire
made up of four sections:
• socio-demographic characteristics, including: age, gender, mari-
tal status, distance to work place, duration of home-work place
trip;
• socio-professional characteristics and work conditions, includ-
ing: specialty, seniority, rank, work infrastructural conditions,
number of courses taught, number of levels taught, number of
theses supervised per year, number of hours devoted to adminis-
trative duties per week, parallel enrollment in private university
Institutes, number of free week-ends per month, number of days
of vacation per year, job perception, professional conflicts;
• the Ricci-Gagnon questionnaire [21], to assess the level of physi-
cal activities and sport (PAS) practice. This questionnaire consists
Please cite this article in press as: Moueleu Ngalagou PT, et al. Burnout syndrome and associated factors among uni-
versity teaching staff in Cameroon: Effect of the practice of sport and physical activities and leisures. Encéphale (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.encep.2018.07.003
3
in two sub-sections A and B, each with four items. Each item is
rated from 1 to 5: 1 corresponds to easy effort and 5, to a very dif-
ficult effort. Sub-section A evaluates the duration and intensity of
daily common activities such as cleaning, gardening, rural work,
walking. Sub-section B evaluates sport and recreational activities.
The total of points in sub-sections A and B enable to classify par-
ticipants as inactive if < 16, active between 16 and 32, very active
if > 32;
• the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES), to
assess burnout (Maslach et al. [22]).
This psychometric instrument includes 22 items that determine
the three dimensions of burnout which are:
• emotionalexhaustion (EE) with nine items: 1,2,3,6,8,13,14,16,20;
• depersonalization (DP) with five items: 5,10,11,15,22;
• loss of personal achievement (LPA) with eight items:
4,7,9,12,17,18,19,21.
The response modalities for the 22 items are based on a 7-points
frequency scale with an intensity ranging from 0 to 6: “0 = never”
to “6 = every day”.
The score in each dimension is used to determine the degree of
affect as high, moderate, or low as follows:
• emotional exhaustion: high ≥ 27; moderate 17–26; low ≤ 16;
• depersonalization: high ≥ 13; moderate 7–12; low ≤ 6;
• loss of personal achievement: high ≤ 30; moderate 31–36;
low ≥ 37.
The questionnaire was handed to participants for one week at
least to take cognition of the content and have sufficient time to
answer to the various items.
2.3. Data analysis
Data were recorded and processed using the EPI Info 7 and
Excel 2010 softwares, and analyzed using the XLStat 7.5.2 software.
Quantitative variables are presented as mean ± SD. Student’s t-test
was used to compare quantitative variables. Qualitative variables
were compared using the Chi2 test, and Fisher’s exact probability
was determined for dichotomous variables. In multivariate analy-
sis, the logistic regression test was used to establish the relationship
between burnout and predictor variables associated in a variety of
situations. Results were considered significant when P < 0.05.
3. Results
3.1. Socio-demographic and -professional characteristics
Three hundreds and three participants were included (out of
130 objectivized). Table 1 describes the socio-demographic and
-professional characteristics of participants. Two hundreds and
ninety-seven (98%) participants answered they had never heard
about burnout. Sixty-three (21%) held additionally an administra-
tive position. Three hundreds participants (99%) disclosed they
were unsatisfied with salary conditions.
3.2. Burnout and associated factors
Two hundreds and six participants (68%) were victims of
burnout, with 118 (57%) low, 74 (36%) moderate and 14 (7%) high
level. They were 115 (56%) Lecturers, 78 (38%) senior Lectures and
13 (6%) Professors. There was no significant difference between
academic ranks. Among the 94 female teaching staff members,
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Table 1 Table 4
Socio-demographic and -professional description, (n = 303 participants). Symptoms reported by victims of burnout (n = 206).

Variable Description n (%) Symptoms n (%)

Socio-demographic characteristics Back pain 108 (52.4)

Age 43 ± 7 years, (range 29–62) Headache 84 (40.8)
Gender Males 209 (69%) Asthenia 63 (30.6)
Female 94 (31%) Mistrust 60 (29.1)
Marital status Single 76 (25%) Irritability 38 (18.4)
Married 227 (75%) Increased sensitivity 37 (18.0)
Number of children in charge No child 35 (12%) Rigidity 32 (15.5)
One child 37 (12%) Pessimism 31 (15.0)
Two to four 205 (68%) Hyperactivity 31 (15.0)
Five and more 26 (08%) Abdominal pain 30 (14.6)
Socio-professional characteristics Promptitude to anger 18 (8.7)
Academic rank Lectures 168 (56%) Palpitations 16 (7.8)
Senior Lecturers 116 (38%) Feeling of superiority 5 (2.4)
Professors 19 (6%) Hot flashes 3 (1.5)
Job seniority Less than 5 years 76 (25%) Feeling of cold 1 (0.5)
Between 5 and 10 years 137 (45%)
More than 10 years 90 (30%)
Desire for reconversion One to two time 32 (11%) Table 5
Often 36 (12%) Frequency of body systems affected in victims of burnout, (n = 206).
More often 07 (02%)
n (%)

Psycho-affective system 165 (80)

Table 2
Musculoskeletal System 78 (38)
Level of affection by burnout in the three dimensions, (n = 206).
Nervous system 58 (28)
Burnout dimension Level Number, (n) Frequency, (%) General signs 45 (22)
Digestive system 29 (14)
Emotional exhaustion Low 64 31 Dermatological system 10 (05)
Moderate 111 54 Cardiovascular system 11 (05)
Severe 31 15 Urogenital System 2 (1)
Depersonalization Low 81 39
Moderate 57 28
Severe 68 33
Loss of personal accomplishment Low 112 55 3.4. Burnout, symptoms frequency and body systems affected
Moderate 49 24
Severe 45 22
Table 4 give the frequency of symptoms reported by victims of
burnout, and Table 5 shows the frequency of body systems affected.
71 (75.5%) were in burnout, against 135 over 209 (64.6%) males;
the difference was not significant (P = 0.7). Table 2 shows level of 4. Discussion
affect in the three dimensions, and Table 3, associated factors with
burnout in a univariate analysis, using logistic regression test. We found a very high prevalence (68%) of burnout. Lokanadha-
Reddy and Poornima, [10], in India, found that 74% of the university
3.3. Practice of physical activities and sports and burnout teachers experienced moderate to high levels of occupational stress
and 86% victims of burnout strongly linked to occupational stress.
One hundred and sixty-two (53%) participants were qualified The high prevalence of burnout in our study can be explained
inactive, and 141 (47%) active, according to the Ricci-Gagnon phys- on the one hand by the ratio of students/01 teaching staff mem-
ical activities metrics. The practice of sport and physical activities ber which is almost the double of UNESCO norm (1 teacher per
showed significant preventive effect against burnout syndrome 30 students), viewing an amplified workload. In the other hand,
(P = 0.004; OR = 2.07; IC95% [1,27–3,38]), the same with leisures by the relatively young characteristic of participants (43 ± 7 years),
(P = 0.016; OR = 2.23; IC95% [13–4,02]). as some studies found that teachers between 35 and 45 years, are
at greater risk of burnout [23,24]. The prevalence of burnout in
Table 3 our study was higher than in Colombia (23.4%) and Tunisia (21%)
Factors associated with burnout. among secondary school teachers [20,25]. Farber [26], Anderson
Associated factors P and Iwanicki [27] suggested that university teachers are more risky
of burnout than those of secondary school due to more overload. In
Job perception and Unsatisfactory salary 0.0001
conditions
all, 54.8% victims of burnout in our study suffered from loss of per-
Poor infrastructures 0.0001 sonal achievement. This was slightly higher than the 45.5% reported
Stressing job 0.002 by Chennoufi et al. [20] in Tunisia. This could be explained by the
Strenuous job 0.022 low remuneration declared by the vast majority (99.6%) of teachers.
Conflict with 0.028
With regard to gender, there was no significant difference
colleagues
Social and family Less number of free 0.001 between male and female teachers in overall. This result is in agree-
conditions week-end ment with Cooper et al. [28], Canoui and Mauranges [29], who
Part time lectures in 0.027 found no direct link between gender and burnout. In fact, results on
private university burnout and gender are controversial. Some authors found a higher
institutions
Less time with 0.001
prevalence of burnout in women and suggested that this was due to
entourage their physical and psychological vulnerability, and the difficulty to
Less time to leisures 0.016 reconcile work and family life [30,31]. Conversely, others reported
Sedentariness, 0.007 a higher rate of burnout among men, because of the high workload
(physical inactivity)
to which they are usually subjected [32].

Please cite this article in press as: Moueleu Ngalagou PT, et al. Burnout syndrome and associated factors among uni-
versity teaching staff in Cameroon: Effect of the practice of sport and physical activities and leisures. Encéphale (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.encep.2018.07.003
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The majority of teaching staff members (75%) in our study
were married. We found no association between marital status and
burnout (P = 0.96). As with gender, results on burnout and mari-
tal status are controversial. Canouï and Mauranges [29] found no
link between burnout and marital status; whereas some authors
[31,33] found a higher prevalence of burnout among unmarried
compared to married. However, these studies concerned medical
care professions.
We did not find an association between professional seniority
and burnout. We suggest that this is likely due to the fact that 75%
of participants had five years of tenure or above. In fact, Cordes and
Dougherty [34] found that teachers with fewer years of teaching
experience are at greater risk of burnout.
Burnout was associated with part time teaching in private uni-
versity institutes (P = 0.027). Due to poor salary as perceived by
99.6% of participants, academics are committed in teaching in pri-
vate university institutes to catch up. This results in an amplified
workload, which in turn predisposes to burnout as suggested some
authors [35,36].
No significant difference was found in burnout affect between
academic ranks in our context, whereas Byrne [24], Hind et al. [37],
Watts and Robertson [38], reported higher emotional exhaustion
among junior university teaching staff than seniors, because usu-
ally, more heavily loaded with lectures. In fact, Watts and Robertson
[38] reported that high numbers of students, greater interactions
with students and high contact hours with students predispose
to academics occupational burnout. We suggest that in our con-
text, where there are very few Professors, the latter are as well
demanded in lectures, and additionally in theses supervision, a task
which is equally exhausting.
Inadequate working conditions were reported by 70.2% teaching
staff. We found associations between infrastructural poor work-
ing conditions (P = 0.0001); physically constraining occupation
(P = 0.022), work stress (P = 0.002) and burnout. This is consistent
with some studies on burnout syndrome which found that poor
working conditions can expose to burnout syndrome [11,20,39].
Studies equally reported that a high intensity of occupational stress
is linked to a great intensification of burnout syndrome [10,40].
We found an association (P = 0.028) between professional con-
flicts with colleagues and burnout. Friedman and Farber [40],
showed that conflicts with colleagues, induces a reduction in per-
sonal accomplishment, which is one of the three dimensions of
burnout. In another extend, as it was found that burnout can be
contagious [6], one can view conflicts with colleagues as the fact of
those who are already victims of burnout.
There were associations between burnout and: less free week-
ends (P = 0.001), less time to leisure (P = 0.016) and less time
devoted to family entourage (P = 0.001). Indeed, the high demand
link to extra hours of work as a consequence of the high number
of students enrolled, the need to catch up with the unsatisfac-
tory salary, result in less time devoted to entourage and leisure.
Amplified workload was found to be associated to burnout [35,36];
whereas practice of leisures was reported as having preventive
effect against burnout [41].
Sedentariness was highly associated to burnout (P = 0.007). In
reverse participants physically active according to the Ricci and
Gagnon scale, were significantly less victims of burnout (P = 0.004).
This is consistent with some studies reporting positive impact of
the practice of physical activities and sports in preventing many
affections and syndromes like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes,
cognitive and brain functions, metabolic syndrome, cancers, stress,
depression, aging, addiction, dementia. Studies on the effect of
practice of physical activities and sports and burnout are scarce
[17–19].
We found a protective effect of the practice of physical activities
and sports against burnout. This result is in agreement with some
Please cite this article in press as: Moueleu Ngalagou PT, et al. Burnout syndrome and associated factors among uni-
versity teaching staff in Cameroon: Effect of the practice of sport and physical activities and leisures. Encéphale (2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.encep.2018.07.003
5
studies [41,42] which showed that an aerobic physical activity pro-
gram reduced stress, depression and burnout on administrative
staff of tertiary institutions. Another systematic review study sug-
gested that “physical activity constitutes an effective medium for
the reduction of burnout” [43]. Conversely, our results are contrary
to a couple of studies [44,45] in which the practice of physical activ-
ities did not show protective or preventive effects against burnout.
However, these studies were carried on medical caring staffs (med-
ical doctors and paramedical staff); and this open a discussion to
understand what makes the difference between university teaching
occupation and medical caring professions.
In another regards, this study (Table 4) confirmed some symp-
toms like asthenia, back ache, head ache, mistrust, and irritability
as the top five, by victims of burnout as reported in a couple of
studies [44,45].
5. Conclusion
The prevalence of burnout syndrome is high among university
teaching staff in Cameroon, with several factors associated.
The practice of sport and physical activities and leisures showed
a protective effect against burnout syndrome.
Asthenia, back ache, head ache, mistrust, irritability, are the top
five and recurrent symptoms.
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding
agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Contribution of authors
• Design of the study: Moueleu Ngalagou, Assomo-Ndemba,
Owona Manga, Lobe Tanga, Owoundi Ebolo, Ayina Ayina, Tem-
femo, Mandengue;
• data collection and analysis: Moueleu Ngalagou, Owoundi Ebolo,
Mekoulou Ndongo, Lobe Tanga, Assomo-Ndemba, Guessogo;
• writing and revision of the manuscript: Moueleu Ngalagou,
Assomo-Ndemba, Owona Manga, Owoundi Ebolo, Lobe Tanga,
Guessogo, Temfemo, Mandengue.
Disclosure of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interest.
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