Junior doctors’ mental health and coronavirus disease safety concerns

Abstract

Objective: This article aims to assess whether caring for COVID‐19 patients impacted junior doctors’ COVID‐19‐related anxieties, general anxiety and depression, and the relative impact of depression, general anxiety and specific COVID‐19 anxiety on work and social functioning during the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2020. Methods: Recruitment occurred between June and August 2020 in New South Wales, Australia. Demographic information, symptoms of depression (PHQ‐9), generalised anxiety (GAD‐7), and COVID‐19‐related anxieties around infections, help‐seeking behaviours, and work and social functioning (WSAS) were collected. Results: About one third (n=73, 33%) had cared for a patient with overt or covert COVID‐19 in the previous month. However, the extent of COVID‐19‐related anxiety symptoms was largely unrelated to caring for COVID‐19 patients. Instead, the presence of other COVID‐19 concerns and gender predicted variations in COVID‐19 concerns for one's own safety and the safety of loved ones. Conclusion: COVID‐19 anxiety symptoms were largely unrelated to caring for COVID‐19 patients, while COVID‐19‐related anxiety around the safety of family and friends added to impaired functioning in addition to the established impact of depression and general anxiety. Implications for public health: Provided the replicability of these findings, this research highlights the importance of addressing pandemic‐related anxieties in junior doctor populations.

Comparing the attitudes of junior doctors towards mental and physical ill-health: a survey of trainees in North London

“…To our knowledge, the difference in attitudes between mental and physical health amongst junior doctors has not been previously established in the literature. The well-being of doctors and other health-care workers is currently at the forefront of medicine, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic (Lu et al , 2020; Galbraith et al , 2021; Ike et al , 2021; Bartholomew et al , 2022). This finding has important implications for the training and support of junior doctors in the future.…”

“…As an example, one study showed rates of “minor psychiatric disorder” (depression and anxiety) at 26.8% in national health service (NHS) employees, in contrast to 17.8% in the general population, with doctors particularly at risk (Wall et al , 1997). More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a particular cause for concern regarding the mental health of doctors (Galbraith et al , 2021; Bartholomew et al , 2022).…”

Depression among Health Care Workers in Khartoum State, Sudan, 2022

“…On the other side, persistent and chronic stress at work-caused by things like high demands, little control over one's work, and job insecurity-can raise the risk of depression. This is especially true for people who work in demanding, high-stress jobs or who lose their jobs or become unemployed[41].…”