ADDRESSING DIETETICS PROGRAM DIRECTOR BURNOUT VIA HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN

Burnout is a public health concern that negatively affects individuals and organizations. Recent work identified high burnout levels in dietetics program directors, or the individuals who oversee dietetics education programs. However, little is known about the implicated factors, and no interventions exist to address program director burnout. The goal of this dissertation was to apply design thinking to characterize the current degree of burnout in program directors and its predictive factors and use those learnings to develop root-cause oriented solutions alongside dietetics program directors. To characterize program director burnout, we administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey to dietetics program directors (n=145) and used this data to develop burnout profiles. A subsample of this population (n=34) then participated in one of four design thinking-style focus groups to identify the drivers and protective factors of program director burnout. These data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Teams of program directors (n=13) then acted as creators and developed three prototype solutions to three of the identified predictors across six design thinking-style workshops. In the sixth session, another group of program directors (n=12) reviewed the developed solutions and provided feedback. The creators integrated the feedback and developed their final prototype solutions. Most of our sample fell on the burnout spectrum, with 29% exhibiting the ineffective burnout profile, 22% the overextended profile, and 13% the full burnout profile. The drivers of program director burnout centered on three themes: 1) high and stressful workload, 2) feeling unsupported and undervalued, and 3) concerns about the dietetics profession. One protective theme emerged: self-care and support. The three solutions were developed from these themes: 1) a revised communication structure for the dietetics accreditation body, 2) a revised annual report to highlight dietetics program value, and 3) a toolkit to better highlight student successes for program director motivation. The reviewers enjoyed the revised communication structure and annual report but provided mixed feedback on the toolkit. Overall, these studies provide an updated picture of dietetics program director burnout and its implicated factors, in addition to program director-created interventions that can be used to address some of the underlying factors.