scholarly journals Lack of application of the European Work Time Directive: effects on workload, work satisfaction and burnout among Italian physicians

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Paola Gnerre ◽  
Domenico Montemurro ◽  
Andrea P. Rossi ◽  
Costantino Troise ◽  
Carlo Palermo ◽  
...  

The Italian Parliament has excluded hospital physicians from the application of the European Work Time Directive (EWTD), which imposes a maximum workweek of 48 h and compulsory resting periods. This resulted in extended and excessive work time for the category. This paper is aimed at evaluating the impact of this legislation gap, by assessing the presence of excessive work-related stress and risk for burnout syndrome among Italian physicians working in public hospitals. This observational study is based on an on-line survey conducted on a sample of 1925 Italian doctors (covering a wide range of age, work experience and contractual positions) from October 2014 to February 2015. The questionnaire included 30 questions concerning their personal and professional life (<em>e.g</em>., assessment of workloads, number of uncomfortable or extra shifts, unused days-off, <em>etc</em>.). On the basis of the results, it can be inferred that the average Italian doctor working in public hospitals is under considerable stress at work with negative consequences on his health. He is exposed to high risk of suffering from sleep disorders and cardiovascular diseases (due to the lack of time for private practice and eating regular meals). Overall, his perception is that his job worsens his quality of life. This study shows the relevance of the risk of burnout among Italian physicians employed in public hospitals due to severe workload and work conditions. The resulting impact on the quality of care and the significant cost involved - both in human and economic terms - calls for significant emergency measures by the Italian health work organization. An important increase and prolonged working time is associated with a worsening of the objective cognitive performance and an increase of clinical risk, but also to an increased risk of diseases for operators and of the burnout syndrome. Our survey shows that lack of application of the EWTD has adverse effects on the quality of life and performance of Italian doctors. Failure to respond by all Italian doctors is the greatest limitation of our survey.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4-1) ◽  
pp. 180-203
Author(s):  
Elena Stukalenko ◽  

Digital technologies, ubiquitous in our daily life, have radically changed the way we work, communicate, and consume in a short period of time. They affect all components of quality of life: well-being, work, health, education, social connections, environmental quality, the ability to participate and govern civil society, and so on. Digital transformation creates both opportunities and serious risks to the well-being of people. Researchers and statistical agencies around the world are facing a major challenge to develop new tools to analyze the impact of digital transformation on the well-being of the population. The risks are very diverse in nature and it is very difficult to identify the key factor. All researchers conclude that secure digital technologies significantly improve the lives of those who have the skills to use them and pose a serious risk of inequality for society, as they introduce a digital divide between those who have the skills to use them and those who do not. In the article, the author examines the risks created by digital technologies for some components of the quality of life (digital component of the quality of life), which are six main components: the digital quality of the population, providing the population with digital benefits, the labor market in the digital economy, the impact of digitalization on the social sphere, state electronic services for the population and the security of information activities. The study was carried out on the basis of the available statistical base and the results of research by scientists from different countries of the world. The risks of the digital economy cannot be ignored when pursuing state social policy. Attention is paid to government regulation aimed at reducing the negative consequences of digitalization through the prism of national, federal projects and other events.


Author(s):  
Raditya Wratsangka ◽  
Rully Ayu Nirmalasari Haryadi Putri

Anemia is a global health problem with an extremely high prevalence and occurring in nearly 25% of the world population, particularly in the elderly group. Currently Indonesia is facing a rapid growth of the elderly population, with around 21 million elderly (8.2% of the total population), that is projected to increase to 33.7 million (11.8%) in the year 2025. Anemia in the elderly is frequently neglected, although the facts show that low hemoglobin concentration is an important marker of physiological decline and functional limitations. Although the factor of intrinsic aging may cause low hemoglobin concentration, anemia in the elderly is known to have a wide range w88ith regard to etiology, underlying disorders, and  possible mechanisms, such that it should be clinically followed up. Whatever its causes or underlying pathophysiological, anemia in the elderly has been proven to play a role in their morbidity and mortality, and may decrease their quality of life, that comprises all aspects of physical, mental, and social health, known as health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The impact of anemia on HRQoL has been studied in various populations, and most studies report the presence of an association between HRQoL and anemia in elderly individuals, which on the subscale level is particularly associated with physical health. Early diagnosis of anemia is important to prevent aggravation of the condition, to retard the progress of the disease, and to improve the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of the patient. Prior to determining the treatment plan, the primary diagnosis and the comorbidities, especially treatable disorders, had better be identified first. The available data show that the overall prognosis will improve for anemia in patients with well-managed and corrected chronic disorders.


Rheumatology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Bechman ◽  
Kapil Halai ◽  
Sam Norton ◽  
Andrew P Cope ◽  
Kimme L Hyrich ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at an increased risk of infection. Most attention has been given to serious infections, but these are the tip of the iceberg. Non-serious infections (NSI) are far more frequent, and although not life-threatening, have potential to impact treatment outcomes (drug survival) and quality of life. Our objective was to describe frequency of NSI and compare incidence of NSI by biologic drug within the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register (BSRBR-RA). Methods The BSRBR-RA is a prospective observational cohort study. NSI was identified as not requiring hospitalisation, intravenous therapy or leading to disability or death. Infections were captured from clinician questionnaires and patient diaries. Individuals were considered ‘at risk’ from the date of commencing biologic treatment for 3 years. Drug exposure was defined by agent; TNF inhibitor, IL-6 inhibitor, anti-CD20 or csDMARD only. To account for a high frequency of events, a multiple-failure Cox model was used. Multivariable adjustment included age, gender, DAS28-ESR, HAQ-DI, disease duration, smoking, steroid usage, year recruited to BSRBR-RA, line of biologic therapy and cumulative infection number. Results There were 17,304 NSI in 10,099 patients, with an event rate of 27.0 per year (95% CI 26.6 to 27.4). Increasing age, female gender, comorbidity burden, corticosteroid therapy, DAS28 and HAQ-DI were associated with an increased risk of NSI. The rate of NSI was numerically lowest with csDMARDs. Compared to TNFi, IL-6 inhibitor had a higher risk of NSI, whilst the csDMARD cohort had a lower risk. Between the TNFi agents, adalimumab had a higher risk than etanercept (Table 1). Conclusion These results confirm that NSI is a frequent occurrence for patients, which historically has received little attention in research literature. The data suggest biologics increase the risk of NSI, especially IL-6 inhibition. Whilst unmeasured confounding must be considered, the magnitude of effects are large and it seems likely that a causal link between targeted immunosuppression and NSI risk exists. Further research is needed to understand the impact of NSI on clinical outcomes including drug survival and quality of life. Disclosures K. Bechman: None. K. Halai: None. S. Norton: None. A.P. Cope: None. K.L. Hyrich: Honoraria; AbbVie paid to the institution and grant income from Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb for activities outside of this work. J.B. Galloway: Honoraria; for speaking or attending conferences from AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Janssen, Pfizer and Union Chimique Belge.


2019 ◽  
Vol 134 ◽  
pp. 03009
Author(s):  
Piotr Kosinskiy ◽  
Vladimir Merkuriev ◽  
Aleksey Medvedev

The article is devoted to the study of coal mining industry problems in a region and environmental and economic damage caused by its activities. It is found that the intensive development of coal mining industry is accompanied by negative environmental consequences associated with the impact on social and economic indicators of a region and the quality of life of the population. The methodology for analysis and evaluation of environmental and economic damage to a regional economy based on the loss of gross regional product (GRP) and associated with the loss of working time due to the incidence of the population, determined by the level of environmental pollution, was developed. The developed methodology solves the problem of evaluating the impact of environmental components not only on environmental and economic damage, characterized by GRP losses, but also on the quality of life of the population. In addition, the optimization nature of the presented model allows finding the economic potential of producers and the objective efficiency of enterprises, which will make it possible to compensate for damage caused by environmental pollution that is adequate to the negative consequences of their activities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e18083-e18083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah M. Belcher ◽  
Susan M. Sereika ◽  
Zan M. Dodson ◽  
Meghan K. Mattos ◽  
Teresa Hagan ◽  
...  

e18083 Background: Women with recurrent ovarian cancer (OC) experience a wide range of cancer- and treatment-related symptoms that negatively impact quality of life (QOL). Studies have reported healthcare disparities by geographic residence related to distance, time, and financial barriers to accessing high quality care. However, no studies have evaluated the impact of residence on symptoms and QOL in women with OC. Therefore, our objectives were to evaluate whether geographic residence (urban versus rural) is associated with symptoms and QOL in a sample of women with recurrent OC. Methods: The Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion conceptual framework guided analyses of baseline GOG-0259 data. We mapped zip codes to RUCA commuter codes and compared sociodemographic and clinical variables between rural and urban groups using two-sample t and chi-square tests. We used MANCOVA, adjusted for age and marital status, to test for associations between residence and symptoms (Symptom Representation Questionnaire) and QOL (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Ovarian). Results: Rural (n = 122, 25%) and urban (n = 374, 75%) women were similar in all sociodemographic and clinical comparisons except for marital status (83% vs. 70% married, p = .003). Women reported moderate symptom severity (M = 5.5, SD = 2.3) and QOL scores similar to other OC studies (M = 108.4, SD = 19.5). In multi-variate analyses, age and marital status were both associated with symptoms; marital status was associated with QOL. Geographical residence was not associated with either symptoms or QOL. Conclusions: Counter to previous research, there were no symptom or QOL disparities based on geographic residence in this sample. Possible explanations to be explored in future research include a) cooperative group selection bias for women with good access to care regardless of geographic residence and b) protective effects of marital status on symptoms and QOL.


Open Heart ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e001726
Author(s):  
Anthony P Carnicelli ◽  
Ruth Owen ◽  
Stuart J Pocock ◽  
David B Brieger ◽  
Satoshi Yasuda ◽  
...  

ObjectiveAtrial fibrillation (AF) and myocardial infarction (MI) are commonly comorbid and associated with adverse outcomes. Little is known about the impact of AF on quality of life and outcomes post-MI. We compared characteristics, quality of life and clinical outcomes in stable patients post-MI with/without AF.Methods/resultsThe prospective, international, observational TIGRIS (long Term rIsk, clinical manaGement and healthcare Resource utilization of stable coronary artery dISease) registry included 8406 patients aged ≥50 years with ≥1 atherothrombotic risk factor who were 1–3 years post-MI. Patient characteristics were summarised by history of AF. Quality of life was assessed at baseline using EQ-5D. Clinical outcomes over 2 years of follow-up were compared. History of AF was present in 702/8277 (8.5%) registry patients and incident AF was diagnosed in 244/7575 (3.2%) over 2 years. Those with AF were older and had more comorbidities than those without AF. After multivariable adjustment, patients with AF had lower self-reported quality-of-life scores (EQ-5D UK-weighted index, visual analogue scale, usual activities and pain/discomfort) than those without AF. CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥2 was present in 686/702 (97.7%) patients with AF, although only 348/702 (49.6%) were on oral anticoagulants at enrolment. Patients with AF had higher rates of all-cause hospitalisation (adjusted rate ratio 1.25 [1.06–1.46], p=0.008) over 2 years than those without AF, but similar rates of mortality.ConclusionsIn stable patients post-MI, those with AF were commonly undertreated with oral anticoagulants, had poorer quality of life and had increased risk of clinical outcomes than those without AF.Trial registration numberClinicalTrials: NCT01866904.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry H. Chill ◽  
Shani Parnasa ◽  
Noam Shussman ◽  
Roie Alter ◽  
Briggite Helou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Colorectal cancer is a condition which is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to assess urinary dysfunction and its effect on quality of life in women who underwent total mesorectal excision compared to women treated by partial mesorectal excision for treatment of rectal cancer. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study at a tertiary university hospital between January 2014 and December 2019. A comparison was performed between women who underwent total mesorectal excision as opposed to partial mesorectal excision for treatment of rectal cancer. Pre-operative, intra-operative and post-operative data were compared between groups. Urinary dysfunction and its impact on quality of life were assessed using UDI-6 and USIQ questionnaires. Further univariate and multivariate analyses were performed in the attempt of assessing risk factors for urinary dysfunction. Results: A total of 107 women were included in the study, 73 women underwent partial mesorectal excision as opposed to 34 women who were treated by total mesorectal excision. Urinary dysfunction following surgery as assessed using the UDI-6 questionnaire did not differ between groups. Similar findings were recorded with regard to the impact of urinary dysfunction on quality of life as assessed using the USIQ questionnaire. Following multivariate analysis longer hospital stay was associated with increased risk of some degree of urinary dysfunction. Conclusions: Women undergoing total mesorectal excision have comparable results to partial mesorectal excision with regard to urinary dysfunction.


Author(s):  
Д.А. Китова ◽  
А.А. Китов

Понятие «менталитет» становится предметом широкого научного дискурса и тяготеет и в отечественной, и в зарубежной литературе к междисциплинарному пониманию. Это сопряжено с широким составом понятий, которые входят в его структуру, и прикладными особенностями его развития - историчностью, устойчивостью/изменчивостью, идеологической лояльностью культур и т.д. Дальнейшая его разработка требует выработки схем описания его структурной композиции, уточнения базовых теоретических концепций, операциональных схем эмпирического анализа и структурирования различных его видов. Проблемы изучения экономического менталитета связаны с содержанием базового понятия и его спецификой - он представляется структурным компонентом российской полиментальности и требует психологического анализа различных его аспектов: сущности и характера его влияния на экономическое поведение личности, корпоративное взаимодействие и экономическое развитие страны в целом. Изучения требуют взаимное проникновение психологических и экономических факторов, прогнозирование их влияния на экономические показатели государства, выделение его функциональных характеристик, а также интенсивность и выраженность психологических свойств и условий культурного развития различных обществ. Выявлен ряд связанных с ним феноменов: взаимовлияния качества жизни и чувства экзистенциальной безопасности; влияния общественного сознания на темпы роста экономики; взаимозависимости качества жизни и субъективной удовлетворенности жизнью; различий в представлениях о причинах бедности преимущественно обеспеченных и нуждающихся слоев населения. Показано, что системно-структурный анализ информационных процессов в интернете (анализ запросов в Google) отражают психологические закономерности возникновения и развития интереса к экономическим явлениям. Предлагаемые подходы позволяют обоснованно считать, что возможно выявление новых знаний об экономическом менталитете. The concept of «mentality» is becoming the subject of a broad scientific discourse and tends, both in domestic and foreign literature, to interdisciplinary integration in the study of the psychology of peoples. It was revealed that the broad interpretation of mentality is associated with a wide range of categories that are included in its structure, and applied features of development - historicity, variability, ideological loyalty of cultures, etc. It seems that further development of the concept requires the development of schemes for describing the structural composition of the mentality, clarification of basic theoretical concepts, operational schemes of empirical analysis and structuring of its various types. The paper describes the problems of studying the economic mentality, which naturally has both problems associated with the study of the basic concept itself, and its own specificity. The economic mentality appears to be a structural component of Russian polymentality and requires an in-depth psychological study of its various aspects: the essence, the nature of the impact on the economic behavior of the individual, corporate interaction and the country's economic development. It was shown that the study requires the mutual penetration of psychological and economic factors, predicting their impact on economic results, highlighting its functional characteristics, identifying the intensity and severity of specific psychological characteristics and conditions of cultural development of societies. It was presented that within the framework of various theoretical approaches and studies, many facts were revealed: the mutual influence of the quality of life and the feeling of existential security; the influence of public consciousness on the rate of economic growth; codependency of the quality of life and subjective life satisfaction; found differences in the perceptions of the wealthy and needy strata of the population about the causes of poverty. It was shown that the systemic and structural analysis of information processes in Google, in particular, the analysis of queries, will make it possible to clearly see that in economies of various types there are certain psychological patterns of interest in economic phenomena that have yet to be substantiated. The proposed approaches make it possible to hope for the identification of new knowledge in the study of economic mentality.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
DEISE SILVA DE MOURA ◽  
LUCIANA DAPIEVE PATIAS ◽  
NATHALY MARIN HERNANDEZ ◽  
RAQUEL PIPPI ANTONIAZZI ◽  
GLAUCO DA COSTA ALVAREZ ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Bariatric surgery is currently considered an effective way to lose weight after failure in the clinical treatment over a 2-year period. Severe obesity is associated with a wide range of serious health complications and reduced health-related quality of life and throughout its context has a significant impact on the health, longevity and quality of life of individuals. The objective of this study was to monitor the impact of weight reduction, induced by bariatric gastric bypass surgery, on the quality of life of pre and post-operative patients at 1, 2 and 6 months. Methods Longitudinal observational study conducted from December 2016 to October 2017 in southern Brazil. The convenience sample consisted of 104 obese individuals eligible to undergo bariatric gastric bypass surgery. The quality of life evaluation was performed using the SF-36 self-administered questionnaire (The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Health Survey). Results Obese patients presented significant weight loss after surgery and in the evaluation of quality of life the mean scores of the 8 domains of the SF-36 obtained a significant improvement (p <0.001) between time 0 and 6, as well as the components of mental health (vitality, social aspects, emotional aspects and mental health) and physical health component (functional capacity, physical aspects, pain and general state of health). Conclusions Patients who underwent gastric bypass bariatric surgery had significant improvements in quality of life during the 6 postoperative months.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeleine Helaß ◽  
Georg Martin Haag ◽  
Ulli Simone Bankstahl ◽  
Deniz Gencer ◽  
Imad Maatouk

Abstract Purpose Oncologists are at an increased risk of developing burnout, leading to negative consequences in patient care and in professional satisfaction and quality of life. This study was designed to investigate exhaustion and disengagement among German oncologists and assess the prevalence of burnout among oncologists within different professional settings. Furthermore, we wanted to examine possible relations between sociodemographic factors, the oncological setting, professional experience and different aspects of burnout. Methods In a cross-sectional study design, an Internet-based survey was conducted with 121 oncologists between April and July 2020 using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, which contains items on exhaustion, disengagement, and burnout. Furthermore, sociodemographic data of the participants were assessed. The participants were members of the Working Group Medical Oncology (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Internistische Onkologie) within the German Cancer Society. Results The survey showed a burnout prevalence of 43.8%, which correlated with age and professional experience; that is, the prevalence is particularly high among younger oncologists. Exhaustion is closely related to employment status; that is, it was significantly higher among employed oncologists. There were remarkably low levels of disengagement among oncologists, highlighting the own demand to fulfill job requirements despite imminent or actual overburdening in daily work. Conclusion More support is necessary to mitigate the professional stressors in the healthcare system. To ensure quality medical care, employees should be offered preventive mental health services early in their careers.


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