Anxiety and resilience in palliative medicine physicians
Anxiety and resilience in palliative medicine physicians
BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care; by To identify the relationship between the degree of anxiety and the capacity for resilience in palliative care physicians ..., [we] included 42 Colombian Palliative Care Physicians and administered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Zung Anxiety Scale and the Resilience Scale. Results: 42 palliative care physicians with an average age of 41 participated in the study. Anxious symptoms were present in 100% of the physicians evaluated. Mild or moderate anxiety was identified in 93.7% of the population and 6.3% of people with severe anxiety symptoms. ... Our results reflect that the population of palliative care physicians has a higher risk and exposure to developing anxiety and its adverse outcomes. We found higher anxiety levels compared with other studies so this population requires greater vigilance and intervention in treating and preventing mental health difficulties.
Editor's Note: Executive leaders for palliative care services, use this research to be aware of possible stress-related tolls experienced by your palliative physicians and team members. Ask. Generate dialogue. Do not assume that this applies, but rather use it to tune into and improve the support your palliative physicians need. While this research was in Columbia, it resonates a U.S. recurring trend of the unionization of physicians, often related to burnout and stress overload. Given its Columbian context and the negative translation of "hospice" into Spanish (meaning "asylum"), the authors' use of "palliative" might infer both "palliative" and "hospice" physicians. This likely correlation is unclear.