Stress Patterns and its Coping Strategies Among Physicians in a Teaching Hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Stress in medical practice has always been a topical issue. The physician apart from being affected by the same variables that impose stress on the general population is also prone to stress because of the peculiarities of his work situation and the expectation of the society at large.

Objective: This study assessed stress and the various coping strategies among physicians in a teaching hospital.

Materials and Methods: The study is descriptive cross-sectional and a multistage random sampling technique was employed. The General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) was adopted for the assessment of the presence and levels of stress among the respondents. Two hundred and forty (240) copies of the questionnaires were distributed while 218 completed copies were returned and analyzed.

Results: Most of the respondents were males 143 (65.6%), 40 years and below (83.5%), and married 130(59.6%).The mean year of experience was 7.92 ± 6.0 years. The majority 141 (64.7%) of the respondents were resident doctors. Most of the respondents reported work overload 167(76.6%), bad working condition 172 (78.9%), lack of resources to work with 159 (72.9%) and inadequate staff level 137 (62.8%) as stressors at work. About half of the respondents 1 06 (48.7) were stressed. The three most common coping mechanisms used by the respondents were sleep/rest 170(78.0%), relaxation 166(76.1 %) and acceptance/carryon 149 (68.3%).The house officers were the most stressed among the respondents 21(52.5%). The level of stress reduced with increasing professional status. There was no significant association between stress and age, gender, professional status, and area of specialization. There was a statistically significant association between stress and marital status.

Conclusion:The level of stress among doctors was found to be high in this study. High-stress level may endanger the health of the physician and can impair the quality of care. Improved working conditions and adequate resources should be provided in terms of manpower and material as this will enhance effective job performance.