Introduction
The World Health Organization defines quality of life as “ an individuals’ perception of
their position in life, in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and
in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns.” physicians, when dealing
with illness and exposing themselves to the risks of their profession, must act without
compromising their own health status in view of the function performed.
Objectives
To evaluate and correlate physicians’ quality of life, professional illness, and
presenteeism.
Methods
This is an epidemiological, cross-sectional, descriptive study with an exploratory
quantitative approach. Overall, 309 physicians working in Juiz de Fora, state of Minas Gerais,
Brazil were interviewed and answered a questionnaire with sociodemographic and health
information and the World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument-Abbreviated version
(WHOQOL-BREF).
Results
Of physicians in the sample, 57.6% fell ill during their professional activities, 35% took
sickness absence, and 82.8% practiced presenteeism. The most prevalent diseases were those
involving the respiratory system (29.5%), infectious or parasitic diseases (14.38%), and those
involving the circulatory system (9.59%). WHOQOL-BREF scores were boas, and were influenced by
sociodemographic characteristics such as sex, age, and time of professional experience. Male
sex, professional experience greater than 10 years, and age above 39 years were associated
with beter quality of life. Previous illness and presenteeism were negative factors.
Conclusions
The participating physicians had a good quality of life in all domains. Sex, age, and time
of professional experience were relevant factors. The highest score was observed in the
physical health domain, followed by psychological domain, social relationships, and
environment, in a descending order.
