Rethinking the Distinction Between Job Burnout and Depression: The Mediating Role of Stress Among Healthcare Professionals in Ecuador

María Aranzazu Cisneros Vidal¹Mateo Peñaherrera-Aguirreᵇ²Silvia Libertad Vaca¹Belén Paladines¹Pablo Ruisoto^3*

• ¹Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Loja, Ecuador
• ²School of Animal & Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States
• ³Faculty of Health Sciences, Public University of Navarre, Pamplona, Navarre, Spain

The distinction between job burnout and depression remains debated, particularly among healthcare professionals exposed to chronic work-related stress. This study examined the mediating role of psychological stress in the relationship between job burnout and depression in an Ecuadorian context.: A cross-sectional sample of 437 physicians and nurses was recruited with the support of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Public Health. Participants completed the PHQ-9, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and the Spanish version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). Confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the validity of all instruments. A structural equation model tested the mediating effect of psychological stress, and multi-group analyses evaluated measurement invariance by gender. Results: Confirmatory factor analyses supported the latent structures of the PSS-10 and PHQ-9, while only the personal accomplishment subscale of the MBI-HSS demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties in this sample. The structural equation model showed that psychological stress partially mediated the association between personal accomplishment and depressive symptoms. Measurement invariance across gender was supported, although males and females exhibited different symptom Deleted: The role of stress on burnout and depression ¶ Deleted:Formatted: Font: 12 pt, English (US) Deleted: The distinction between burnout and depression has been a subject of debate. This study aims to analyse the overlap between burnout and depression, shedding light on their shared and distinctive features and their relationship with stress.A cross-sectional study was conducted in a nonclinical sample comprised of 663 health care professionals. All variables were measured by well-stablished-standard measures: Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services (MBI-HS) to measure burnout, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess depressive symptomatology, and Perceived Psychological Stress (PSS-10) to measure psychological stress.