Evaluating the effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the physical and mental well‐being of obstetricians and gynecologists in Turkey

Abstract

Objective To apply online surveying to assess the general physical and mental well‐being of obstetricians/gynecologists (OB/GYNs) working in COVID‐19 designated hospitals in Turkey. Methods A prospective survey‐based study using an online survey platform. Three hundred participants working at COVID‐19 designated hospitals in Turkey identified from a hospital database were sent a link to the survey by email between April 29 and May 20, 2020. Results A total of 253 OB/GYNs (31 consultants and 222 residents) completed the survey, for a response rate of 84.3%. Of respondents, 191 (76.4%) were anxious about coming into contact with pregnant women infected with COVID‐19. 74.4% stated that they were afraid of getting sick. 64.8% reported that they had fallen into despair at times because of the pandemic. 66.5% stated that their family lives were affected. 72.4% started living separately from their families because of the pandemic. Conclusion Despite the difficulties in patient care during the pandemic, OB/GYNs continued providing for their patients, which reflected positively on their perceptions of the profession. The importance of trust in the national healthcare system, presence of adequate PPE, finding a suitable coping mechanism, and family support were essential for Turkish OB/GYNs during the COVID‐19 pandemic. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04327531. Turkish obstetricians/gynecologists reported anxiety and stress caused by the current situation and future implications of the COVID‐19 pandemic.

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“…We see that you have overlooked this topic. Although there were 9 original articles [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] from Turkey indexed in LitCovid between the dates specified in your study, we haven't seen any article about this topic among the selected articles. The study held in our hospital, namely Evaluation of the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety severity of physicians working in the internal medicine department of a tertiary care hospital: a crosssectional survey yielded that particularly female doctors and physicians who have elderly family members and family members with chronic medical conditions showed more severe symptoms of anxiety [3].…”

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