Physician stress in the era of COVID-19 vaccine disparity: a multi-institutional survey

Abstract

Context Healthcare workers are at a high risk of infection during infectious disease outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the availability of several vaccines against COVID-19, the absence of vaccination in patients and colleagues remains a continuous source of stress in healthcare workers. We conducted a survey of physician preceptors, both MDs and DOs, to explore the impact of differences in the patients’ and colleagues’ vaccination status on their well-being, stress, and burnout. Objectives The objective of this study is to determine whether exposure to unvaccinated patients and/or colleagues increases stress and burnout in physician preceptors by utilizing a self-reported survey. Methods This multi-institutional study was carried out in the United States in 2022. An online survey questionnaire was utilized to collect data from physicians working as preceptors for multiple academic institutions. The anonymous Qualtrics® survey utilized a modified version of the questionnaire from the expanded Physician Well-being Index (ePWBI) designed by MedEd Web Solutions (MEWS). Statistical analysis on both descriptive and qualitative data were performed. Utilizing a threshold of p≤0.05, data analysis revealed many statistically significant relationships between the variables. Results A total of 218 physician preceptors completed the survey. The survey results showed that physicians overwhelmingly (p < 0.001) felt that all patients (and healthcare workers) should be vaccinated. The results also indicated that physicians experienced more stress when working with unvaccinated patients (p<0.001), and these stressors were often associated with the physician’s gender and age. Furthermore, physicians stated that both their assessment and treatment plans were significantly different for vaccinated vs unvaccinated patients (p=0.039 and p=0.0167, respectively). Most importantly, stress levels (p<0.001) and burnout characteristics (p=0.024) were noted by physicians, both in themselves and in their colleagues. Conclusions Findings suggest that physician stress and burnout is a common theme due to the differences in vaccination status of patients admitted to COVID-19 clinics. Due to a more rapid progression of COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients, treatment plans for vaccinated vs unvaccinated patients were also considerably different.

Asociación entre el contacto directo con pacientes SARS-CoV-2+ y la presencia de síndrome de Burnout y síntomas de ansiedad generalizada en el personal de salud del Hospital Regional Guillermo Díaz de la Vega-Abancay-Apurímac, Enero – Marzo del 2021

“…Por otra parte, investigaciones como la de Kim et al (55) realizada en Estados Unidos a enfermeras previo a la administración de la segunda dosis y después de la misma encontró que no existía una asociación significativa entre la vacunación y el estado de salud mental de las enfermeras. Del mismo modo existen estudios que mencionan que la vacunación del personal de salud no era el factor de riesgo a tener en cuenta sino el estado de vacunación de la población ya que esto detonaba el desarrollo de ansiedad y estrés en el personal de salud debido a la cantidad de personas infectadas, este el caso del estudio de Zahl et al (56). Cabe resaltar que la heterogeneidad de los estudios hace difícil definir con claridad si existe o no un impacto en el desarrollo de síntomas de ansiedad y burnout, también la extensión temporal de la pandemia, así como la varianza en el momento de suscitarse los diferentes picos de contagio en los distintos países hacen difícil la tarea de esclarecer esta asociación.…”