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Abstract.Health-care workers are on the front line to combat the peculiar coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic and are susceptible to acquiring this infection. This study is aimed at documenting the effect of “coronaphobia” on mental well-being and to report burnout among physicians. The study was conducted as a cross-sectional survey between November 17, 2020 and January 1, 2021 via a Google form distributed among the physicians of a tertiary care hospital, in Karachi, Pakistan. The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) was used to assess the mental well-being of physicians. Burnout was documented by using the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel. Eighty-seven physicians participated in the survey (mean age, 30.9 ± 7.3 years). The mean WEMWBS score of the study participants was 51.6 ± 10.8. Regarding the WEMWBS, emotional exhaustion was observed in 54% (N = 47) of participants, depersonalization in 77% (N = 67), and low personal accomplishment was reported in 31% (N = 27) of participants. The results of the survey further highlight that depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and low personal accomplishment were associated significantly with a history of COVID-19 infection and COVID-19 postings. Hence, immediate measures are required to reduce the burnout among physicians while battling the second wave of the pandemic.

IntroductionRapid advancements are being made in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support digital healthcare transformation and provide evidence-based care. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the knowledge of basic principles, limitations, and applications of AI in healthcare among medical students and doctors of a developing country. MethodsTwo free webinars were hosted for doctors and medical students in northern India (Punjab state) to create awareness about the role of AI in healthcare and the recent advancements made in various medical specialties. The delegates' perceptions about their knowledge and interest in AI were ascertained using the Likert scale (1 = low, 5 = high) in the post-event questionnaire. Using Chi-square and cross-tabulation analysis, associations were examined between knowledge of AI, gender, medical experience, and other variables. ResultsOut of the total of 621 registrants, 367 filled the post-event questionnaire and were included in the analysis. Although the majority felt that AI will play an important role in delivering healthcare services in the future (74.4%), they did not feel knowledgeable about the applications (79.6%) and limitations of AI (82.8%). A relatively lesser proportion of doctors (51.6%) felt interested to learn more about AI than medical students (69.3%). Furthermore, a lesser proportion of doctors (65.2%) felt that AI will be beneficial for their career as a doctor as compared with medical students (84.4%). The majority of medical students (83.5%) had never attended any webinar/lecture or course on AI in healthcare and felt that they have received minimal advice (80.7%) from their medical school on teaching about AI and its applications. A significantly (P = 0.001) higher proportion of female medical students were unknowledgeable about the principles and applications of AI than male respondents. However, female medical students were significantly (P = 0.004) more interested than male medical students to learn about AI. ConclusionsFormal training courses to teach about AI should be focused on to facilitate coherent and scientifically supported dissemination of knowledge in medical schools and hospitals. Further large-scale studies are needed to understand the perception and attitude of medical students and doctors regarding AI to steer policy development and medical education curriculum changes to spark an interest in emerging technologies and drive innovation.

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