Relationship of Occupational Stress with Psychosomatic Symptoms and Mental Wellbeing in Medical Professionals: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Objective To determine the relationship of occupational stress with psychosomatic complaints and mental wellbeing among medical professionals at private hospitals in Rawalpindi. Methods: Hospital based exploratory study was conducted at Maryam Memorial hospital, Bilal Hospital and Al-Shafi Hospital from January 2022 to June 2022. The study included 150 registered medical practitioners of both genders with a valid Pakistan Medical Commission license and 2-3 years of clinical experience. Subjects were accessed via convenient nonprobability method. A semi structured Work stress questionnaire, as well as a somatic symptom and mental wellbeing scale, were used to collect data. Results: Out of 150 medical professionals there were 75 (50.0%) females and 75 (50.0%) males in which 118 (78.7 %) were married. Majority of medical professionals were house officers 59 (39.3 %), 54 (36.0 %) were consultant specialist and were 37 (24.7%) emergency/ward assistants. A significantly positive correlation was found between occupational stress and psychosomatic symptoms score (p-value <0.001). Whereas a significantly negative correlation was observed between occupational stress and mental wellbeing score (p-value <0.001). Psychosomatic symptoms score was found to be a significant predictor of having occupational stress this association was confirmed even after adjusting for other variables (β=1.10, 95% CI = 0.91 to 1.28). Conclusion: The study concluded that occupational stress is the cause of psychosomatic complaints which deteriorates the mental wellbeing of medical professionals resulting in poor patient care.

Keywords

• Medical Professionals
• Mental Wellbeing
• Occupational Stress
• Private