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

ABSTRACT

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.