Assessment of Occupational Stress in Medical Doctors Working in Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Background: Nowadays, stress has commonly been assessed especially in medical doctors. The reason for
the same is that medical doctors have to play high competitive roles and in turn have so many responsibilities
keeping in mind the holistic care to patients.
Aim/objective: To assess occupational stress in medical doctors working in tertiary care hospital of
Bhavnagar, Gujarat.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during September 2017 to December
2017 after prior approval of institutional ethics committee. Total 75, both male and female medical doctors
were enrolled as study participants after written informed consent and based on inclusion criteria. Along with
case record performa, self-administered pre-tested questionnaires having stress scale namely Professional
Stress Scale (PSS) and Perceived Stress Scale 10 items (PSS-10) were given to all participants as a study
tool. The data of scores received on scales was and entered in Microsoft excel and the same was analyzed
by using GraphPad Prism 5 software for various proportions, associations and frequencies. The associations
were considered significant if the p value is less than 0.05.
Results: Out of 75, total 50 participants filled and submitted the questionnaires. The mean age of participants
was 31.96 years. As per the stress scales used, moderate stress was observed among medical doctors
irrespective of sex. The commonest symptom observed among stressed doctors was sleep disturbances
(insomnia).
Conclusion: Moderate to mild stress was found among medical doctors. Stress in medical doctors is never
underestimated irrespective of sex. Insomnia is the commonest symptom observed among stressed doctors.