The Maslach Burnout Inventory, Brief COPE, General Self-Efficacy questionnaire and a job satisfaction scale were filled in by 383 health care workers for opioid addicted patients from Athens, Essen, London, Padua, Stockholm and Zürich. As the study is part of a project examining European drug treatment systems and institutions the individuals´ results were related to organizational features.

One third (29%) of the European staff under survey suffer from severe burnout. Employees from London and Stockholm are significantly more burdened than Zurich personnel where job satisfaction is highest. Males are more prone to burnout. Active strategies to cope with occupational stress were preferred. Some organizational characteristics such as setting and threshold of the treatment program seem to be relevant for the choice of coping strategies and job satisfaction.

In comparison to health care services in other medical fields burnout is a severe problem for drug service workers. The results of the study hint at the necessity to further investigate stress in health care personnel caring for drug addicts and establish effective counteractive measures.