Living With More Than a Disease: Unpacking Treatment Burden and Burnout in Chronic Disease
Work Type
Poster
Abstract
The number of individuals diagnosed with and navigating treatment of one or more chronic diseases continues to rise each year. To manage a chronic disease, patients take on many responsibilities. The necessary, yet often complex disease treatment plans patients must follow to manage their chronic disease can create treatment burden. Treatment burden in chronic disease is leading to increased rates of burnout.
Treatment burden is the compilation of anything a patient must do to manage their disease, and this is often multifaceted. This may include attending appointments, taking medications, patient education, finances, scheduling appointments, self-care, among other tasks.
When treatment burden is high, patients can become emotionally and physically exhausted with the management of their chronic disease. This exhaustion can lead to burnout.
Burnout in chronic disease is a state of physical, emotional, social, and mental exhaustion related to the management of chronic disease. Burnout as a result of treatment burden can manifest in many ways, but it often manifests as treatment non-adherence.
Not all patients experience the same amount of treatment burden or perceive it in the same way; therefore, it can make recognition and addressing treatment burden tricky.
How patients perceive treatment burden compared to healthcare providers’ perception of a patient's treatment burden differs.
Can recognition of treatment burden by healthcare providers lead to decreased rates of burnout and therefore better outcomes for patients?
Does the use of telehealth reduce treatment burden and therefore burnout?
Publication Date
5-17-2026
Citation Information
Tetmeyer, Madison, "Living With More Than a Disease: Unpacking Treatment Burden and Burnout in Chronic Disease" (2026). Student Works Physician Assistant. 17.
https://digitalcommons.dmu.edu/stu_pa/17
