Introduction. With the beginning of full-scale Russian aggression, the situation with mental health in Ukraine has significantly worsened. Medical workers who work with combatants during their treatment and rehabilitation are affected by secondary traumatic stress and also face a high level of professional stress, which can lead to a decrease in work efficiency and deterioration of health. Regular monitoring of professional life quality and timely implementation of measures aimed at increasing resilience level is extremely important for the successful professional activity of medical personnel who provide assistance to combatants.
Objective. The objective of this study was to assess the professional life quality and resilience level of medical personnel in military treatment and rehabilitation facilities.
Materials and Methods. 54 medical workers aged from 21 to 70 (average age – 39.1 ± 12.5) years participated in the study, among whom 70.4% were women and 29.6% were men. The respondents' work experience ranged from 1.5 to 53 years and averaged 18.0 ± 13.3 years. The majority of respondents (44.4%) were representatives of multidisciplinary hospitals. Among the survey participants, 27.8% were doctors, 16.6% were nurses, and 55.6% were other medical workers (nursing assistants, rehabilitation specialists). An online survey of participants was conducted using Google Forms. A questionnaire was developed consisting of several sections: the first section was an independently developed questionnaire that included biographical data of the participants; the second section was devoted to the study of the professional life quality of medical workers using the ProQOL-Health method; the third section was aimed at establishing the level of resilience according to the Connor-Davidson scale. Statistical analysis of the results was performed using Excel program. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis methods were used.
Results. Medical personnel in military treatment and rehabilitation facilities predominantly have an average level of resilience, both among all respondents altogether and in separate groups of men, women, and medical workers of different specialties, with a tendency for lower scores among women. All respondents had average scores on the scales “Perceived Support,” “Professional Burnout,” “Secondary Traumatic Stress,” and “Moral Distress.” In the group of nurses, the scores of perceived support tended to decrease, while secondary traumatic stress, professional burnout, and moral distress tended to increase. A difference was found with regard to “Compassion Satisfaction” among representatives of different professions. Physicians had a high level of compassion satisfaction; nurses and other healthcare workers had a medium level of compassion satisfaction, with nurses having the lowest level among others.
Conclusions. The assessment of the professional life quality of medical workers in military treatment and rehabilitation facilities shows that nurses are the most vulnerable category of personnel and have higher scores of professional burnout, moral distress, and secondary traumatic stress and lower scores of compassion satisfaction and perceived support. Medical workers with a higher level of resilience have higher scores of compassion satisfaction and perceived support. Persons with a lower level of resilience are more prone to professional burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and moral distress
