ABSTRACT
Burnout and emotional exhaustion are becoming common among health workers in the busy teaching hospitals due to increased workload and the dearth of human resource. This study aimed to determine the causes of burnout among doctors and across gender differences. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from 1st July to 30th September 2022. Two hundred and forty-five randomly recruited doctors who filled out self-administered questionnaires were included in the study. Independent samples t-test was used for comparison of the mean emotional burnout score. Female doctors felt more emotionally drained, more fatigued, and more worn out from work than male doctors (p < 0.05). Overall emotional exhaustion was also higher in female doctors (p < 0.05). This situation was more serious during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gender-sensitive environments, workplace policies, and necessary interventions will save physicians' burnout and brain drain. Emotional burnout is greater in female doctors as compared to their male counterparts. This evidence not only calls for prevention and treatment but also certain service-related reforms to facilitate female physicians to balance out their work and family lives more effectively. Key Words: Physicians, Emotional exhaustion, Burnout, Gender difference, Pakistan.
Subject(s)
Burnout, Professional , Physicians , Tertiary Care Centers , Humans , Burnout, Professional/epidemiology , Burnout, Professional/psychology , Female , Male , Cross-Sectional Studies , Pakistan/epidemiology , Adult , Physicians/psychology , Sex Factors , Surveys and Questionnaires , COVID-19/psychology , COVID-19/epidemiology , Workload/psychology , SARS-CoV-2 , Middle Aged , Job Satisfaction , Workplace/psychology , Physicians, Women/psychology , Physicians, Women/statistics & numerical dataABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In the wake of growing c- section rates around the developing world and likewise in Pakistan, there is paucity of knowledge about the preference of Pakistani women for the mode of delivery. Therefore, this study explored the reasons behind their preference. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a non-probability consecutive sampling technique including 232 pregnant women. RESULTS: Majority (87.5%) would prefer a vaginal delivery because it is the natural way of giving birth and its recovery is faster. Moreover, women perceive that it would be easier to provide immediate care and breastfeeding to the newborn. Fear of surgery was the main deterrent for a c-section. Nonetheless, there were 12.5% women in favour of caesarean section, among whom a majority feared birth trauma to the newborn, labour pain, or complications of vaginal delivery such as possible faecal or urinary incontinence. CONCLUSIONS: Pakistani women at large prefer a normal vaginal delivery and therefore the rising trends of c- section cannot be attributed to the demand of the expecting women. Hence, there is a need for elucidating and explicating the real and perhaps the undisclosed reasons for the rising rates of caesarean section as a mode of delivery in Pakistan.
