In Canada, the rate of physician visits for mental health or addiction-related issues increased by 27% between March 2020 and March 2021.
- Health professionals have been more exposed to the risk of depression and burnout due to the Covid-19 epidemic.
- More of them consulted mental health specialists between March 2020 and March 2021.
- According to the authors, easier access to video consultations may have helped some doctors to dare to consult, because mental health is often taboo in this professional environment.
Covid-19 is damaging our mental health, and healthcare professionals are not spared. In JAMA Network Openscientists show that Canadian doctors consulted more for mental health problems during the first year of the epidemic. “Surveys of doctors during the Covid-19 pandemic have shown an increase in cases of depression, anxiety and burnout”, explains Dr. Daniel Myran, author of this study. To better understand the evolution of these figures over time, he conducted a study with his team on the subject. In total, they analyzed anonymized data from 34,000 practicing physicians in Ontario. They were interested in online and in-office consultations.
A particularly stressful time for caregivers
Between March 2020 and March 2021, there were 1,028 mental health or addictions visits per 1,000 physicians in Ontario, up from 817 the previous year. This represents an increase of 27%. A total of 26,266 mental health-related visits were made by physicians in the year before the pandemic, compared to 31,936 in the following year. “Doctors, like other healthcare workers, have faced enormous work-related stressors during the pandemicfind the researchers. These included a potentially higher risk of exposure to Covid-19, fears of infecting friends, family and colleagues, and heavier workloads.”
Who are the health professionals concerned?
Some specialties performed significantly more mental health visits than others. For example, psychiatrists had the highest annual visit rate at 3,442 per 1,000 physicians, while surgeons had the lowest visit rate at 370 per 1,000 physicians. The study showed no significant difference between men and women, older and younger doctors, urban or rural doctors, or between doctors who have directly cared for patients with Covid-19 in emergency departments and those who have not fact. “We were surprised to see no change in mental health visits made by physicians who provided direct care to patients with Covid-19 in hospital, as other studies reported greater impacts on their Mental Health“, adds the co-author, Dr. Manish Sood. According to him, doctors working in intensive care, emergency medicine and internal medicine already had lower rates of visits to mental health services before the pandemic. “This could mean they have greater resilience, more reluctance to seek care, or have work schedules that are a barrier to seeking care.s”, he believes. The authors recall that the study only covers the first year of the pandemic: “The situation has since changed, in particular with the Omicron variant which now exerts a strong pressure on the health system”, they specify. The mental health of healthcare professionals may have further deteriorated.
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