“It’s easy to be burned out in this line of work”: Experiences of burnout among Black women pelvic floor therapists in the United States

Background: Burnout disproportionately affects professionals who spend much of their time in direct patient care. The physical and emotional demands of pelvic floor therapists, coupled with identity-based stressors, may place Black women pelvic floor therapists at an increased risk for experiencing burnout. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of burnout among Black women pelvic floor therapists in the United States. Design: This is a short-form qualitative study with data collected from an online survey. Methods: We recruited Black women pelvic floor therapists from November 2023 to February 2024 to complete an online survey comprised of open-ended questions about their experiences of burnout. The coding team analyzed the short-form qualitative data using inductive structural tabular thematic analysis. Results: Of the 59 participants in the total sample, 37 reported experiencing professional burnout. Main themes were: (1) contributors to burnout, (2) signs of burnout, and (3) consequences of burnout. Notably, contributors to burnout were predominantly structural and included workplace factors, such as unrealistic productivity standards and experiences of discrimination and microaggressions. Signs of burnout were primarily emotional. Consequences of burnout included leaving the current work setting, a strong desire to transition to a different setting, or taking a break from the profession overall. Conclusion: This study revealed that it is not only the intensity of Black women pelvic floor therapists’ workload but also the nature of their tasks and the contexts within which they operate that contribute to burnout.