Relationship between Locus of Control and Burnout among Health Information Technology Staffs at University Hospitals in Ardabil

Background & objectives: Burnout in addition to physical exhaustion due to work overload or conflicts between people has a psychological origin. The aim of this study was to determine the Locus of Control and Burnout among the employees of the Health Information Technology (HIT) unit of hospitals. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all 82 employees of HIT unit of university hospitals in Ardabil participated. The data collection tool was two standard questionnaires including Rutter's Locus of Control and Maslach's burnout scale. Data were analyzed by descriptive tests, Pearson correlation coefficient and regression using SPSS (ver. 22). Results: 37% of the participants had an internal locus of control and 63% had an external locus of control. Participants had severe burnout in the components of emotional exhaustion and Depersonalization, and mild burnout in the component of individual success. Finally, the relationship between locus of control and burnout components was significant. Conclusion: This study shows that the source of the locus of control is external among the majority of participants. There are also some degrees of burnout among them. In addition, a significant relationship is found between the locus of control and all the components of burnout. Therfore, it is neccesary to have effective workshops on the internalization of the locus of control and, consequently, the reduction of burnout