BurnoutBOPEC-MGNCT06811181
Study of Psychosocial and Contextual Determinants of General Practitioners' Management of Burnout
An observational study of Burnout, run by Nantes University Hospital at 1 site in France.
Trial summary
Burnout is a major public and occupational health issue. Despite accumulated knowledge to date on the determinants of burnout and its treatment, shortcomings when providing support against this complex phenomenon have been found. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Burnout
- How many people
- 410 participants
- Where
- 1 siteFrance
- Study dates
- 5 Jun 2025to 1 Jul 2028
- How long will I take part?
- 1 Day
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Study population: Active general practitioners in the northwestern of France (around 23000 GPs)
Who may be able to join
- practicing GPs
- GPs in northwestern region of France
- GPs with regular use of sick leave prescriptions
Who cannot join
- GPs with particular mode of exercise (e.g. 100% homeopathy)
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
About this study
Burnout is a major public and occupational health issue. Despite accumulated knowledge to date on the determinants of burnout and its treatment, shortcomings when providing support against this complex phenomenon have been found. Although many professionals are involved in the management of burnout, general practitioners (GPs), as primary care providers, are on the front line, and face a range of difficulties that are reflected in the wide variability of medical support brought to the patients. As a result, the diversity of these practices can affect the recovery process of burnout sufferers and their ability to return to work. Deviations from recommended practices can lead to shortcomings in the treatment of burnout. Using an exploratory et descriptive study design, the main objective of BOPEC-MG is to describe the psychosocial mechanisms involved in the management of burnout in general practice that could explain the variation in medical practices.
Read the detailed description
The principal aim of this interdisciplinary project is to conduct an exploratory study of GPs' attitudes, beliefs and social representations with regard to burnout management, in order to better understand how their perceptions of this syndrome can influence their practices.
A mixed method combining qualitative and quantitative data collection will be used with samples from the French GPs population.
The study comprises two distinct samples corresponding to the two phases of the mixed-methods design. In phase 1 (qualitative study), 20-30 general practitioners were expected to participate; this phase has now been completed, with 30 participants recruited. In phase 2 (quantitative study), a target sample of 384 general practitioners is planned. The overall enrolment target reported for the study (n = 410) corresponds to the expected enrolment across both phases (384 participants for the quantitative phase and approximately 20-30 participants for the qualitative phase).
In phase 1 (qualitative study), semi-structured interviews will be conducted to explore:
- The contextual aspects of professional practice (e.g. barriers to work);
- The attitudes, beliefs and social representations about burnout;
- Concrete practices for managing burnout (e.g. prescribing sick leave).
In addition to semi-structured interviews, qualitative data collection will include the examination of fictional clinical cases to describe medical practices. The format of the four fictional will be video, with actors playing the roles of patients with severe burnout in general practice. The independent variables manipuled will be age and gender.
In phase 2 (quantitative study), a questionnaire will be sent to french general practitioners. it will include scales developed using the results of phase 1 and scales validated by the scientific literature.
As for quantitative data collection, in addition to scales dedicated to attitudes, beliefs and practices, a questionnaire will include a free association task to describe social representations of burnout.
the questionnaire will measure:
- attitudes
- beliefs
- social representations
- screening for burnout and depression
- contextual and environmental psychosocial determinants
- care practices
- socio-demographic variables
A randomized controlled trial aimed at harmonizing practices in general practice could be carried out on the basis of the results. Furthermore, the applications of the present study will be twofold: designing training courses in burnout management for the medical population, and contributing to communication campaigns to encourage GPs to follow the recommendations.
- Conditions
- Burnout
- Keywords
- Burnout, primary care, general practitioners
- Medical subject headings
- Burnout, Psychological
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| General practitioners | Only practising French GPs will be included in the study. In qualitative phase, each GP will be interviewed during a research interview lasting one to one-and-a-half hours. In quantitative phase, GPs will receive an e-mail with a link to complete the questionnaire. The survey will take 15 minutes to complete. For the inclusion of participants in the qualitative phase, the sampling method chosen is that of maximum variation. The criteria used are: gender, age, seniority, type of agreement, type of territory, type of work organization. The quantitative phase involves sending a questionnaire by email to a professional mailing list of general practitioners. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Attitudes and beliefs about burnout will be assessed with scales developed specifically on the basis of the qualitative results.
Attitude and belief scales will include a series of items and statements relating to burnout and its management. The measurement method chosen is the Lickert scale, classically used for attitude assessment.
The items and statements will be based on the content of the interviews (qualitative phase). The items will be subjected to a 3-stage judges' validation test:
- written judgment on each item,
- perfect agreement by the judges as to the unfavorable or favorable value of an item,
- 3 out of 4 judges agree that the statement is an attitude or belief. The items selected by this method will constitute the first operational version of the scale.
Measured: 1 day. Each participant is assessed one time
Secondary outcomes (1)
Social representations about burnout will will be assessed with a free association test (Vergès, Scanon & Junique, 2005).
The free association task is the method traditionally used to measure social representations. It consists in proposing an inductive word and asking the participant to evoke the 5 words related to this inductive term. This procedure has the advantage of being quick and encouraging spontaneity, which favors less controlled responses than in a qualitative survey. (Guimelli \& Abric, 2007).
In the context of this research, the inducer words will be: "burnout", "sick leave", "general practitioner".
Measured: 1 day. Each participant is assessed one time
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted6 Feb 2025
- Study start5 Jun 2025
- Primary completion30 Sep 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion1 Jul 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for BurnoutStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Nantes University HospitalThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Case only
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
- Enrolment
- 410 participants (estimated)
- Target duration
- 1 Day
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Nantes University Hospital
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- University Hospital, Angers, National Research Agency, France, IGEIA, audit intervention formation recherche en santé, F-44000 Nantes, France, Tours university
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06811181
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- RC24_0566
- Acronym
- BOPEC-MG
- Status last verified
- Oct 2026
- First submitted
- 30 Jan 2025
- Last updated
- 15 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 15 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Study of Psychosocial and Contextual Determinants of General Practitioners' Management of Burnout
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06811181
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- BOPEC-MG / RC24_0566
- Conditions
- Burnout
- Keywords
- Burnout, primary care, general practitioners
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 410 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Nantes University HospitalUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- University Hospital, Angers, National Research Agency, France, IGEIA, audit intervention formation recherche en santé, F-44000 Nantes, France, Tours university
- Study start
- 5 Jun 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Sep 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 1 Jul 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 6 Feb 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Burnout is a major public and occupational health issue. Despite accumulated knowledge to date on the determinants of burnout and its treatment, shortcomings when providing support against this complex phenomenon have been found. Although many professionals are involved in the management of burnout, general practitioners (GPs), as primary care providers, are on the front line, and face a range of difficulties that are reflected in the wide variability of medical support brought to the patients. As a result, the diversity of these practices can affect the recovery process of burnout sufferers and their ability to return to work. Deviations from recommended practices can lead to shortcomings in the treatment of burnout. Using an exploratory et descriptive study design, the main objective of BOPEC-MG is to describe the psychosocial mechanisms involved in the management of burnout in general practice that could explain the variation in medical practices.
Detailed description
The principal aim of this interdisciplinary project is to conduct an exploratory study of GPs' attitudes, beliefs and social representations with regard to burnout management, in order to better understand how their perceptions of this syndrome can influence their practices.
A mixed method combining qualitative and quantitative data collection will be used with samples from the French GPs population.
The study comprises two distinct samples corresponding to the two phases of the mixed-methods design. In phase 1 (qualitative study), 20-30 general practitioners were expected to participate; this phase has now been completed, with 30 participants recruited. In phase 2 (quantitative study), a target sample of 384 general practitioners is planned. The overall enrolment target reported for the study (n = 410) corresponds to the expected enrolment across both phases (384 participants for the quantitative phase and approximately 20-30 participants for the qualitative phase).
In phase 1 (qualitative study), semi-structured interviews will be conducted to explore:
- The contextual aspects of professional practice (e.g. barriers to work);
- The attitudes, beliefs and social representations about burnout;
- Concrete practices for managing burnout (e.g. prescribing sick leave).
In addition to semi-structured interviews, qualitative data collection will include the examination of fictional clinical cases to describe medical practices. The format of the four fictional will be video, with actors playing the roles of patients with severe burnout in general practice. The independent variables manipuled will be age and gender.
In phase 2 (quantitative study), a questionnaire will be sent to french general practitioners. it will include scales developed using the results of phase 1 and scales validated by the scientific literature.
As for quantitative data collection, in addition to scales dedicated to attitudes, beliefs and practices, a questionnaire will include a free association task to describe social representations of burnout.
the questionnaire will measure:
- attitudes
- beliefs
- social representations
- screening for burnout and depression
- contextual and environmental psychosocial determinants
- care practices
- socio-demographic variables
A randomized controlled trial aimed at harmonizing practices in general practice could be carried out on the basis of the results. Furthermore, the applications of the present study will be twofold: designing training courses in burnout management for the medical population, and contributing to communication campaigns to encourage GPs to follow the recommendations.
Study design
- Observational model
- Case only
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
- Target follow-up
- 1 Day
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| General practitioners | – | –Only practising French GPs will be included in the study. In qualitative phase, each GP will be interviewed during a research interview lasting one to one-and-a-half hours. In quantitative phase, GPs will receive an e-mail with a link to complete the questionnaire. The survey will take 15 minutes to complete. For the inclusion of participants in the qualitative phase, the sampling method chosen is that of maximum variation. The criteria used are: gender, age, seniority, type of agreement, type of territory, type of work organization. The quantitative phase involves sending a questionnaire by email to a professional mailing list of general practitioners. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- Active general practitioners in the northwestern of France (around 23000 GPs)
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- practicing GPs
- GPs in northwestern region of France
- GPs with regular use of sick leave prescriptions
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- GPs with particular mode of exercise (e.g. 100% homeopathy)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Primary outcome
Attitudes and beliefs about burnout will be assessed with scales developed specifically on the basis of the qualitative results.
Time frame: 1 day. Each participant is assessed one time
Attitude and belief scales will include a series of items and statements relating to burnout and its management. The measurement method chosen is the Lickert scale, classically used for attitude assessment. The items and statements will be based on the content of the interviews (qualitative phase). The items will be subjected to a 3-stage judges' validation test: 1. written judgment on each item, 2. perfect agreement by the judges as to the unfavorable or favorable value of an item, 3. 3 out of 4 judges agree that the statement is an attitude or belief. The items selected by this method will constitute the first operational version of the scale.
1 secondary outcome
Social representations about burnout will will be assessed with a free association test (Vergès, Scanon & Junique, 2005).
Time frame: 1 day. Each participant is assessed one time
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 15 Oct 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Burnout, run by Nantes University Hospital at 1 site in France.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in France. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Florian OLLIEROU (0240083635 ext. +33, florian.ollierou@chu-nantes.fr), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Attitudes and beliefs about burnout will be assessed with scales developed specifically on the basis of the qualitative results. (time frame: 1 day. Each participant is assessed one time). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Oct 2026.