Date of Conferral

3-19-2026

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Edoardo Naggiar

Abstract

Despite physician burnout being a recognized problem, no single, successful, clear strategy has been developed to lessen this issue. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the motivations underlying the development of responses to physician burnout by their creators and the factors that influenced their decision-making in creating these responses. A purposeful sample of 17 creators of physician burnout and suicide prevention strategies in the United States was selected based on Moustakas’s conventions for conducting a qualitative descriptive phenomenological study. Notwithstanding this sample, data collection continued until saturation was achieved. The qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews with the help of an interview protocol. Transcribed semi-structured interview data were then analyzed using Moustakas’s analysis approach for phenomenological data analysis. NVivo 14 was used to merge, code, relate, and analyze the transcribed semi-structured interview data. Study results contained themes that included system-level factors influencing intervention creation, personal experiences that shaped creators’ motivations, cultural norms and stigma in shaping wellness work, leadership and governance in wellness design, organizational context and leadership influences, implementation pathways and practical challenges, and reflections and recommendations for future interventions. This study contributes to social change through a better understanding of how creators perceived and experienced efforts to prevent physician burnout and suicides in the future which can assist in the development of effective responses to this problem.

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