Experiences of general practice residents during the COVID-19 health crisis: impact on anxiety and motivation for general practice

Introduction: The COVID-19 health crisis has turned the entire health care system and its actors upside down. For interns in general practice (IMGs), it has changed the way they practice medicine on a daily basis, disrupted their training, and highlighted their social responsibility, a factor that predisposes them to practice general medicine. Objective: To assess the impact of the health crisis on the anxiety and motivation for general practice of IMGs. Method: Cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire (Qualtrics (c)) distributed by e-mail to IMGs of two French-speaking Belgian universities between 1 and 31 July 2020 following the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: In a sample of 188 IMGs, the following variables, considered as significant risk factor for anxiety, were analyzed: psychological distress prior to the lockdown (OR=2.894), having more than 15 daily telephone consultations during the lockdown (OR=2.724), worrying about being affected by COVID-19 (OR=2.892), or deterioration in quality of life (OR=3.335). Conversely, the feeling of practicing in a supportive environment (OR=0.311) is a protective factor against anxiety. Finally, the feeling of social usefulness reinforces the motivation of IMGs for their profession (OR=4.737). Conclusion: This study allowed us to better identify the factors of anxiety and motivation for specialization in general practice among IMGs just after the first wave of COVID-19. Awareness of the risk factors for professional distress and how to deal with them should be considered in the university curriculum.

[Experiences of frontline caregivers in the midst of a health crisis : a participatory study in the Liege region]

The aim of this two-stage research was to document the stressors and resources experienced by front-line professional groups at the heart of the health crisis due to COVID-19, as well as to bring out of a multidisciplinary reflection, a series of priority proposals for strengthening the care system. Our results highlighted great interprofessional similarities in terms of negative and positive experiences (e.g., feeling of powerlessness, support among colleagues), as well as professional specificities (e.g., the painful feeling of being <<alone at the front>> among nurses). Although the stress, fatigue and/or lassitude factors cited by the participants were more numerous than the protective factors, several participants experienced an opportunity for personal and professional development. Overall, this research found that all front-line professionals have a role to play in improving and building resilience in the system, and that this role could be most effective if played in a context of increased multidisciplinary coordination and communication.