Physicians’ quality of life, illness and presenteeism: a cross-sectional epidemiological study

Abstract

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.