Burnout management in general practice: exploring psychosocial and contextual determinants of clinicial practices. A mixed-methods study protocol

Abstract Background Burnout-related complaints are increasing, and general practitioners are frequently consulted for work-related concerns. However, knowledge regarding clinical management practices for burnout and the psychosocial and contextual determinants that shape these practices remains limited. This study aims to address this gap through an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design. Methods and analysis The study will be conducted in two phases. Phase 1 will consist of semi-structured interviews incorporating video-based clinical vignettes to explore management practices and their underlying determinants. Phase 2 will build on these findings to develop a questionnaire aimed at generalizing the qualitative results to a larger sample, testing new hypotheses derived from the qualitative material, and statistically assessing the effects of psychosocial and contextual determinants on medical practices. Discussion The originality of this protocol lies in the integration of complementary theoretical models and in the use of video-based clinical vignettes to investigate medical practices and their determinants in a contextualized manner. From an ecologically informed and sustainable research perspective, these videos may also be repurposed for professional training in burnout management and for future interventional studies. Finally, the findings of this project may inform public and policy discussions and contribute to improving clinical management practices and support recommendations regarding burnout management. Trial registration This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT06811181, registered on 2025-02-06).