Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Female Doctors: A Cross Sectional Study from Rawalpindi

Abstract

Introduction: Studies have shown that toiling in the medical field, especially in comparison to other professions is stressful. There is evidence that depression leads to reduced productivity in the workplace. Poor clinical judgement, increased chances of error in patient care and absenteeism all lead to reduced quality of work. Female doctors, in particular, are vulnerable to mental health issues owing to elements such as bullying, workplace sexual harassment, long working hours, frantic shifts, and domestic commitments.

Materials and Methods: Over a six-month period (June 2020 to November 2020), we conducted a cross-sectional survey in three tertiary care hospitals in Rawalpindi, two of which were public sector and one private sector. We collected 328 samples by means of non-probability consecutive sampling.

We used the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS), a 42-item questionnaire via Lovibond and Lovibond with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.89.

Mean and SD of DASS total and subscale scores were compared for subjects stratified by age, marital status, designation, hospital status, and monthly household income via Student t-test and ANOVA.

Results: The total mean DASS score reported by our participants was 31±26.92. Total mean DASS scores were significantly greater in House Officers and decreased as the designation rank increased (p=0.007). Mean DASS subscale scores showed that the junior female doctors were significantly more anxious (p=0.004) and depressed (p=0.041) compared to the senior doctors. However, there was no significant difference in stress scores, indicating that all the female doctors that participated were experiencing stress regardless of their designation. There was also no significant difference in DASS scores between private and public sector hospitals.

Conclusion: Female doctors working in tertiary care hospitals of Rawalpindi reported depression, anxiety, and stress. Steps need to be taken to reduce risk factors for these mental health issues in order to boost workplace satisfaction and productivity.