WHO recognizes burn out as medical condition

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WHO defines burn-out as a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Photo: File 
 

UNITED NATIONS: The World Health Organization (WHO) has for the first time recognized "burn-out" in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD), which is widely used as a benchmark for diagnosis and health insurers.

The decision, reached during the World Health Organization's Assembly in Geneva, which ends on Tuesday, could help put to rest decades of debate among experts over how to define burnout, and whether it should be considered a medical condition.

In the latest update of its catalogue of diseases and injuries around the world, WHO defines burn-out as "a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed."

The WHO said the syndrome was characterized by three dimensions: 

1) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion. 

2) increased mental distance from one's job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job.

3) reduced professional efficacy. 

"Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life," according to the classification.

"This is the first time" burnout has been included in the classification, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters.