The Impact of Covid-19 vaccinations on the wellbeing of doctors Worldwide
Hesham Hegazi1, Martin Edwards2
1General practice training, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
2Department of child health, Cardiff and Vale UHB
*Corresponding author
*Hesham Hegazi, General practice training, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
DOI: 10.55920/JCRMHS.2023.03.001131
We included doctors from the different continents, but Asian doctors had the greatest share (52.5%), followed by Africa (21.5%). Regarding country income, most of our participants were from lower-middle-income countries (59.1%), followed by upper-middle-income ones (23.2%).
Table 2 shows the work-related data of the study doctors. We included different medical specialties, mainly family medicine (26.8%), internal medicine (24.3%), and surgery (17.3%). Their career level ranged from junior doctors (15.5%) to consultants (33.1%), and their working hours varied from less than 20 hours to 50 or more working hours per week. PWS had a mean value of 7.95, and it ranged between 0 and 12, as illustrated in Table 3.
Table 2: Work related data
Table 3: Personal Wellbeing Score (PWS) questionnaire
Previous Covid 19 infection was reported by 533 participants during the last 2 years (31.7%), while 141 doctors reported that they may have caught this infection (8.4%). As regard vaccination data, it was as follows; two doses (74.6%), only one dose (7%), one dose and waiting for the second one (8.6%), not waiting (6.1%) and never vaccinated (3.6%). Table 4 summarizes the previous data.
Table 4: COVID related data
According to Table (5), most doctors reported their optimism regarding vaccination development and its subsequent positive impact on their wellbeing. Also, most of them agreed that burnout is a serious problem needing more attention to be well managed. The participants suggested some solutions to improve their wellbeing from their point of view, as shown in Table (6).
Table 5:
Table 6: Do you have suggestions to enhance doctors’ wellbeing during and after the pandemic
Figure 1: Personal Wellbeing Score (PWS) questionnaire
Age distribution had no significant impact on PWS (p = 0.583). Nevertheless, the same score showed a significant rise in the male population compared to females (8.18 vs 7.73 – p 0.002). Both specialty and continent distribution did not show a significant association with the same score (p = 0.784 and 0.611). Also, the number of working hours per week showed no significant association with the same score (p = 0/154). However, higher medical career levels were associated with higher PWS (p < 0.001).
Redeployment was associated with significantly lower PWS (p < 0.001), which had mean values of 7.63 and 8.31 in the reemployed and non-reemployed doctors, respectively. We noted higher PWS in high and lower middle income countries (p = 0.035) compared to the other two types (low and upper-middle). Although Covid 19 infection was associated with a significant decrease in PWS (p < 0.001), vaccination did not show any significant impact on the same score (p = 0.085).
- Imo UO. Burnout and psychiatric morbidity among doctors in the UK: a systematic literature review of prevalence and associated factors. BJPsych Bull. 2017;41(4):197-204.
- Ruiz-Fernández MD, Ramos-Pichardo JD, Ibáñez-Masero O, Cabrera-Troya J, Carmona-Rega MI, Ortega-Galán Á M. Compassion fatigue, burnout, compassion satisfaction and perceived stress in healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 health crisis in Spain. J Clin Nurs. 2020;29(21-22):4321-30.
- Wu Y, Wang J, Luo C, Hu S, Lin X, Anderson AE, et al. A Comparison of Burnout Frequency Among Oncology Physicians and Nurses Working on the Frontline and Usual Wards During the COVID-19 Epidemic in Wuhan, China. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020;60(1):e60-e5.
- Rothan HA, Byrareddy SN. The epidemiology and pathogenesis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. J Autoimmun. 2020;109:102433.
- Bulut C, Kato Y. Epidemiology of COVID-19. Turk J Med Sci. 2020;50(Si-1):563-70.
- Lai CC, Wang CY, Wang YH, Hsueh SC, Ko WC, Hsueh PR. Global epidemiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): disease incidence, daily cumulative index, mortality, and their association with country healthcare resources and economic status. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2020;55(4):105946.
- Baud D, Qi X, Nielsen-Saines K, Musso D, Pomar L, Favre G. Real estimates of mortality following COVID-19 infection. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020;20(7):773.
- Wadoo O, Latoo J, Iqbal Y, Chandrappa NSK, Chandra P, Masoodi NA, et al. Mental wellbeing of frontline healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic in Qatar. Asian J Psychiatr. 2021;55:102517.
- Greenberg N, Docherty M, Gnanapragasam S, Wessely S. Managing mental health challenges faced by healthcare workers during covid-19 pandemic. Bmj. 2020;368:m1211.
- Xiang YT, Yang Y, Li W, Zhang L, Zhang Q, Cheung T, et al. Timely mental health care for the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak is urgently needed. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020;7(3):228-9.
- Lai J, Ma S, Wang Y, Cai Z, Hu J, Wei N, et al. Factors Associated With Mental Health Outcomes Among Health Care Workers Exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(3):e203976.
- Freeman D, Loe BS, Chadwick A, Vaccari C, Waite F, Rosebrock L, et al. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the UK: the Oxford coronavirus explanations, attitudes, and narratives survey (Oceans) II. Psychol Med. 2020:1-15.
- Tande AJ, Pollock BD, Shah ND, Farrugia G, Virk A, Swift M, et al. Impact of the COVID-19 Vaccine on Asymptomatic Infection Among Patients Undergoing Pre-Procedural COVID-19 Molecular Screening. Clin Infect Dis. 2021.
- Cook TM, Roberts JV. Impact of vaccination by priority group on UK deaths, hospital admissions and intensive care admissions from COVID-19. Anaesthesia. 2021;76(5):608-16.
- Bilge Y, Keles E, Baydili KN. The Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination on Mental Health. Journal of Loss and Trauma. 2021:1-4.
- Nguyen M. The Psychological Benefits of COVID-19 Vaccination. Advances in Public Health. 2021;2021:1718800.
- Benson T, Sladen J, Liles A, Potts HWW. Personal Wellbeing Score (PWS)-a short version of ONS4: development and validation in social prescribing. BMJ Open Qual. 2019;8(2):e000394.
- Powell SK. Compassion Fatigue. Prof Case Manag. 2020;25(2):53-5.
- Ortega-Galán Á M, Ruiz-Fernández MD, Lirola MJ, Ramos-Pichardo JD, Ibáñez-Masero O, Cabrera-Troya J, et al. Professional Quality of Life and Perceived Stress in Health Professionals before COVID-19 in Spain: Primary and Hospital Care. Healthcare (Basel). 2020;8(4).
- Faderani R, Monks M, Peprah D, Colori A, Allen L, Amphlett A, et al. Improving wellbeing among UK doctors redeployed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future Healthcare Journal. 2020;7(3):e71.
- Haddaden M, Aldabain L, Patel N, Maharaj A, Saif A, Imam Z, et al. Health care workers attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination and the effect on personal and professional life. Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives. 2021;11(5):585-9.
- Le K, Nguyen M. The psychological burden of the COVID-19 pandemic severity. Econ Hum Biol. 2021;41:100979.
- Hidalgo MD, Balluerka N, Gorostiaga A, Espada JP, Santed M, Padilla JL, et al. The Psychological Consequences of COVID-19 and Lockdown in the Spanish Population: An Exploratory Sequential Design. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(22).
- Niedzwiedz CL, Green MJ, Benzeval M, Campbell D, Craig P, Demou E, et al. Mental health and health behaviours before and during the initial phase of the COVID-19 lockdown: longitudinal analyses of the UK Household Longitudinal Study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2021;75(3):224-31.
- Bohlken J, Schömig F, Lemke MR, Pumberger M, Riedel-Heller SG. [COVID-19 Pandemic: Stress Experience of Healthcare Workers - A Short Current Review]. Psychiatr Prax. 2020;47(4):190-7.
- Swaminathan R, Mukundadura BP, Prasad S. Impact of enhanced personal protective equipment on the physical and mental well-being of healthcare workers during COVID-19. Postgrad Med J. 2020.
- Zhu Z, Xu S, Wang H, Liu Z, Wu J, Li G, et al. COVID-19 in Wuhan: Sociodemographic characteristics and hospital support measures associated with the immediate psychological impact on healthcare workers. EClinicalMedicine. 2020;24:100443.
- Bell V, Wade D. Mental health of clinical staff working in high-risk epidemic and pandemic health emergencies a rapid review of the evidence and living meta-analysis. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2021;56(1):1-11.
- Kang L, Ma S, Chen M, Yang J, Wang Y, Li R, et al. Impact on mental health and perceptions of psychological care among medical and nursing staff in Wuhan during the 2019 novel coronavirus disease outbreak: A cross-sectional study. Brain Behav Immun. 2020;87:11-7.
- Serrano-Ripoll MJ, Meneses-Echavez JF, Ricci-Cabello I, Fraile-Navarro D, Fiol-deRoque MA, Pastor-Moreno G, et al. Impact of viral epidemic outbreaks on mental health of healthcare workers: a rapid systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2020;277:347-57.
- Hayat K, Arshed M, Fiaz I, Afreen U, Khan FU, Khan TA, et al. Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study From Pakistan. Front Public Health. 2021;9:603602.
- Gong H, Zhang SX, Nawaser K, Afshar Jahanshahi A, Xu X, Li J, et al. The Mental Health of Healthcare Staff Working During the COVID-19 Crisis: Their Working Hours as a Boundary Condition. J Multidiscip Healthc. 2021;14:1073-81.
- Bashirian S, Jenabi E, Khazaei S, Barati M, Karimi-Shahanjarini A, Zareian S, et al. Factors associated with preventive behaviours of COVID-19 among hospital staff in Iran in 2020: an application of the Protection Motivation Theory. J Hosp Infect. 2020;105(3):430-3.
- Bendau A, Ströhle A, Petzold MB. Mental Health in Health Professionals in the COVID-19 Pandemic. In: Rezaei N, editor. Coronavirus Disease - COVID-19. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2021. p. 737-57.
- Kisely S, Warren N, McMahon L, Dalais C, Henry I, Siskind D. Occurrence, prevention, and management of the psychological effects of emerging virus outbreaks on healthcare workers: rapid review and meta-analysis. Bmj. 2020;369:m1642.
- Lasebikan VO, Oyetunde MO. Burnout among Nurses in a Nigerian General Hospital: Prevalence and Associated Factors. ISRN Nurs. 2012;2012:402157.
- Talaee N, Varahram M, Jamaati H, Salimi A, Attarchi M, Kazempour Dizaji M, et al. Stress and burnout in health care workers during COVID-19 pandemic: validation of a questionnaire. Z Gesundh Wiss. 2020:1-6.
- Al Sulais E, Mosli M, AlAmeel T. The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on physicians in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2020;26(5):249-55.
- Wisetborisut A, Angkurawaranon C, Jiraporncharoen W, Uaphanthasath R, Wiwatanadate P. Shift work and burnout among health care workers. Occup Med (Lond). 2014;64(4):279-86.