Prevalence of stress and its associated factors among intern physicians in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES

Stress is inherent in human life, and physicians by dint of their nature of profession are subjected to a high level of stress. Stress among intern physicians is a major concern that can lead to physical and mental illness and can harm the quality of patient care. This study assessed stress and its associated factors among intern physicians.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

SETTING

This study was conducted among intern physicians of three medical college hospitals in Bangladesh. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic details, work-related questions, social and personal questions and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale was used.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 350 interns participated in this study.

OUTCOME MEASURES

We measured the prevalence of stress and socio-demographic, work-related and social and personal factors associated with stress among interns.

RESULTS

The prevalence of stress among medical interns was 65.7%. Most interns were affected by mild stress (27.1%), followed by moderate (20.9%) and severe (17.7%) stress. The stress level was significantly higher (76.9%) among interns who were posted in the gynaecology and obstetrics department compared with interns who were posted elsewhere (p=0.003). Stress was significantly associated with family income (p=0.001), hours of work per day (p<0.001) and per week (p=0.001), duration of sleep (p=0.004) and relaxation time (p<0.001). Higher stress levels were found in interns who feared hospital-acquired infections (p=0.001), missed social events (p=0.03), did not have a close friend in the same department (p=0.01), spent less time with friends and family (p=0.004), could not have a meal during work hours (p=0.008) and had conflicts with nurses (p=0.005) and patients or their attendants (p=0.022).

CONCLUSIONS

Stress was widely prevalent among the intern physicians. Excessive stress can impact cognitive abilities, education and patient outcomes negatively. Interventions targeting precipitating factors can reduce interns' stress and enhance work efficiency.