Occupational Burnout, Psychological Status and Quality of Life in Primary Care Physicians Working in Outpatient Settings

A replication study of a psychotherapy incorporating horses resiliency intervention for healthcare workers

OBJECTIVES

The first aim of this pilot observational study was to replicate a previous study of a resiliency psychotherapy incorporating horses (PIH) intervention for healthcare workers. The second aim was to address some gaps in the literature regarding equine-assisted services more broadly.

DESIGN

Prospective open trial.

SETTING

A large healthcare system and a community equine facility INTERVENTION: A single-session four-hour intervention that focused on participants resilience.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Safety, feasibility, and utilization were assessed, and psychological instruments were administered. Instruments utilized were the Positive and Negative Affect Scale the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II, and the Conner-Davidson Resiliency Scale.

RESULTS

Thirty-eight subjects participated in the study, the majority of which were female (71.1 %). The age group with the most representation included those ranging from age 25-34. The intervention was safe but underutilized. Participation was associated with improved psychological flexibility (PF), and positive affect, as well as reduction in negative affect pre- to post-intervention. There was no change in resiliency and there were no associations between improvements in affect and PF.

CONCLUSIONS

Resiliency PIH interventions for healthcare workers can be utilized safely and likely result in short-term psychological benefits for participants. Future randomized controlled investigations are warranted, and these studies should implement methods to maximize utilization. Additionally, this study and the literature suggest that enhanced affect and PF are likely important EAS outcomes across a variety of interventions. These constructs should be investigated with more rigorous studies including comparisons of interventions with and without a psychotherapy component.

Association between lifestyle behaviors and health-related quality of life among primary health care physicians in China: A cross-sectional study

Background

Primary health care (PHC) serves as the gatekeeper of health system and PHC physicians take on significant obligations to provide health care services in the pursuit of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). PHC physicians' health-related quality of life (HRQoL) can have a strong impact on patients, physicians and the health care system. Lifestyle interventions are found to be effective to improve HRQoL. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between lifestyle behaviors and HRQoL among PHC physicians, so that lifestyle intervention can be tailored by policy makers for health promotion.

Methods

A survey covering 31 provinces and administrative regions in China was conducted in 2020 using a stratified sampling strategy. Data on sociodemographic characteristics lifestyle behaviors and HRQoL were collected by a self-administered questionnaire. HRQoL was measured through EuroQol-five dimension-five level (EQ-5D-5L) instrument. A Tobit regression model was performed to evaluate the association between sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle behaviors and HRQoL.

Results

Among 894 PHC physicians who completed the survey, Anxiety/Depression (AD) was the dimension with the most problems reported (18.1%). Regular daily routine (β = 0.025, 95%CI 0.004 to 0.045) and good sleep quality (β = 0.049, 95% CI = 0.029 to 0.069) were protective factors for HRQoL, while smoking (β = −0.027, 95% CI = −0.079 to −0.003) and frequency of eating breakfast (β = −0.041, 95%CI = −0.079 to −0.003) were negatively associated with HRQoL. Physical activity and alcohol drinking were not significantly associated with HRQoL.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that tailored interventions on daily routine, improving sleep quality, and tobacco control among PHC physicians may be effective strategies to improve their HRQoL.

Physician burnout and symptom of anxiety and depression: Burnout in Consultant Doctors in Ireland Study (BICDIS)

BACKGROUND

Burnout is a work related syndrome comprising three major dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced professional efficacy. It is recognised that burnout may be associated with psychopathological sequelae, such as symptoms of anxiety and depression.

AIMS

This study aimed to examine the relationship between burnout and symptoms of depression and anxiety in senior doctors in Ireland. We examined personality traits as a mediating factor on burnout, in relation to work related stress among the participants.

METHODS

This study was a national cross sectional survey of consultants. Data included basic demographic data, work-related data, burnout as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory, personality traits, and symptoms of depression and anxiety from the Depressive Anxiety Stress Scale [DASS].

RESULTS

Results were obtained from 477 consultants, yielding a response rate 21.9%. Nearly half (42%) reported high burnout levels. Over one-quarter (25.8%) screened positive for depression and 13.8% for anxiety. After controlling for gender and age, depressive symptoms were associated with high levels of emotional exhaustion (p<0.001) and a higher clinical workload, and stress with cynicism and reduced professional efficacy (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The this study reported a high level of work-related burnout, associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety in senior doctors. This is concerning, and strategies are required that consider the relationship between symptoms of depression/anxiety and burnout. Further research to evaluate strategies to ensure physician wellbeing and optimal delivery of patient care are required to address this serious problem.

[Factors affecting the uptake of national practice guidelines by physicians treating common CVDS in out-patient settings]

Aim      To study factors that influence the consistency of real prescriptions with applicable national guidelines for outpatient physicians in the management of patients with common cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).Material and methods  This was a cross-sectional study based on 16 randomly selected municipal polyclinics, where internists filled in validated questionnaires, including the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), WHO Quality of Life - BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), and the Personal Decision-Making Factors (PDF-25). Participating physicians provided outpatient case reports of sequentially arriving patients with a high risk of CVD or confirmed CVDs during 2-3 working days, corresponding to the questionnaire period of ±1 week. The consistency of the prescriptions recorded in these case reports with the Russian Society of Cardiology (RSC) Guidelines was assessed.Results This study included 108 physicians (mean age, 44.0±13.1 years, 87.0 % women) who provided case reports of 341 patients (mean age, 64.4±13.2 years, 59.5 % women) with most common diagnoses of arterial hypertension (92.1 %), ischemic heart disease (60.7 %), and chronic heart failure (32.8 %). According to results of multivariate regression analysis, the following factors increased the likelihood of the prescription inconsistency with the guidelines: the fact that the physician had the highest attestation category (OR 2.56; 95% CI 1.39-4.7; p&lt;0.002), attended professional events less than 2 times in 5 years (OR 2.23; 95% CI 1.18-4.22; p=0.013), had an additional, part-time job (OR 15.58; 95% CI 1.51-160.5; p=0.021), was prone to prescribe familiar trade names (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.08-3.85; p = 0.028), perceived drug supply problems as an important factor influencing the decision making (OR 5.13, 95% CI 2.69-9.75; p&lt;0.001), and a total score on the emotional exhaustion scale (OR 1.03, 95 % CI 1.01-1.06; р=0.031). Also, this likelihood was increased by older age of the patient (OR 3.29; 95 % CI 1.65-6.55; р&lt;0.001) and excessive alcohol consumption by the patient (OR 1.79, 95 % CI 1.31-2.43; р&lt;0.001). The likelihood of non-compliance with the guidelines was reduced by a high assessment of own health status according to the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire (OR 0.19; 95% CI 0.05-0.72; p = 0.014), a high assessment of own working conditions (OR 0.76; 95% CI 0.64-0.9; p=0.002), and postgraduate education within the last 5 years (OR 0.14; 95% CI 0.06-0.36; p&lt;0.001).Conclusion      The study identified the factors that influence the likelihood of the consistency of prescriptions made by outpatient physicians for patients with CVD with applicable national clinical guidelines. Among these factors, the most important ones were access to educational events, additional, external part-time job, indicators of inertia of previous practice, problems with drug provision, satisfaction with own health status and working conditions, and emotional exhaustion (a component of professional burnout), older age of patients and their excessive alcohol consumption.