Determinants of Stress and Effects on Performance in Part of Lebanese University Medical Residents During Fourth Quarter of 2019

Abstract

Background and Objective: Medical residents face challenges that expose them to high risk of developing stress. Stress could reach burnout levels and become harmful to residents and patients. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of stress in current Lebanese University (LU) residents and assessing correlations with some risk factors and consequences. Subjects and Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 130 current LU residents who filled out a questionnaire concerning their demographic data, residency specialty and year, workload, special habits, depression, stress, and frequency of medical errors. Depression and stress scores were obtained using DASS-21 scale. Collected data was analyzed using ANOVA and chi- Square tests in SPSS to find descriptive statistics and correlations. Results: Out of the enrolled residents, 70% had stress ranging between mild and extreme severity. The mean age of the residents was 27.2 years. Females had higher stress than males and gender accounted for 14.1% of variance in stress among residents. Our results implied that internal medicine specialty imposes higher stress than surgery specialty with a significant difference of 4.04 points and working more than 50 hours per week which accounts for 7.6% of variance in stress. Residents had, on average, 4.38 hours of sleep per night and a negative association was found between sleep and stress. Depression was prevalent; 18.5% had severe depression, 3.1% had extremely severe depression, and stress was significantly correlated with it. Similarly, stress was associated with medical errors. No significant correlation was detected between age, marital status, parenting, and residency year, on call duties, or special habits and stress. Conclusion: Stress among medical residents is high due to the different challenges at the personal and occupational level. Stress should be managed especially that it could lead to harmful consequences on the resident’s health and patient’s safety.