Assessment of Mental Health Status and Associated Factors Among Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Physicians Amid the Covid-19 Pandemic

OpenAlex İngilizce

Objective: The present study analyzes the mental health status and sleep patterns of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) physicians (physiatrists), as well as other associated factors, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: The physiatrists that made up the sample were reached via an online questionnaire form collecting data on their demographic characteristics and the working conditions in PMR and pandemic outpatient clinics, while the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-Short Form (DASS-21) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) were applied to measure mental status and sleep quality, respectively. Results: The study included 309 PMR physicians. The results of the DASS-21 identified symptoms of depression in 58.6%, stress in 40.5% and anxiety in 54.4% of the physicians during the pandemic, while the results of ISI revealed insomnia symptoms in 45.3%. The DASS-21 depression, anxiety and stress subscales, and the ISI scores of the physicians were found to have increased during the pandemic at a statistically significant degree. Multiple regression analyses revealed a strong relationship between total DASS-21 score, and the adequacy of information about COVID-19, performing procedures requiring close contact with patients, the presence of a person with chronic disease in the household and the female gender. Satisfaction with workplace hygiene, in turn, was found to significantly reduce the respondents' ISI scores.