Impact of Personality Traits and Socio-Demographic Factors on Depression among Doctors and Nurses

The workplace is not immune to conflict and stress, specifically when fulfilling people's responsibilities at great personal costs. Doctors and nurses are always on the frontline in hospitals, vaulting from one stressful high-stakes situation to the next. The HEXACO model of personality traits: Honesty-humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness, has long been hypothesized to be a major predicting factor when determining individuals' responses to stress and susceptibility to experiencing depression. Most research suggests that personality traits resonate with a person's cognitive abilities and how they can deal with stress and depression. However, there is a lack of research on their correlation to depression severity in the Middle East. The current study aimed to investigate the impact of HEXACO personality traits and socio-demographic factors on depression amongst doctors and nurses. A sample of 170 doctors and nurses (62.1% doctors) completed HEXACO-60 and PHQ-9 depression severity questionnaires. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, ANOVA, correlation, and regression analysis. The findings showed that Honesty-humility was the strongest predictor, while extraversion was the second strongest. Emotionality had the least impact on depression. The relationship between Agreeableness and Openness to Experience with depression was insignificant. However, gender, age, working hours, and work experience were significant predictors of depression. Marital status and level of specialization were insignificant predictors. Thus, it was concluded that not all HEXACO traits and socio-demographics predict depression. Study findings could be utilized in the implementation of employee recruitment, job crafting, positive psychology, and coaching.

Examining the Attitudes of Non-Psychiatric Practicing Healthcare Workers Towards Patients With Alcohol Problems in General Hospital Setting

Background and objectives: Problematic alcohol-use affect the physical and mental well-being of hospitalised individuals and may receive screening and brief-intervention during treatment. Non-psychiatric doctors and nurses might respond inadequately due to negative attitudes and beliefs. This study aimed to examine these attitudes of non-psychiatric workers in the medical and surgical wards. Methods: A total of 457 doctors and 1643 nurses were recruited from the medical, surgical and orthopaedic disciplines over a period of 4 months. Three questionnaires were administered: demographics, Alcohol & Alcohol-Problems Perceptions Questionnaire (AAPPQ) and Staff Perception of Alcohol Treatment Resources. Results: About 128 doctors and 785 nurses responded. Around 75.5% doctors and 51.9% nurses endorsed role-legitimacy in the AAPPQ. Both the doctor (86.7%) and nurse (77.6%) groups agreed on the importance to initiate intervention for patients with problematic alcohol-use in daily work. Both groups were sceptical and negative towards these patients endorsing low-level role-adequacy (41.2%), role-support (36.9%), motivation (36.5%), task-specific self-esteem (25.1) as well as work satisfaction (20.5%). Conclusion/discussion: Doctors and nurses demonstrated low levels of therapeutic commitments towards patients with problematic alcohol-use thereby necessitating the introduction of in-house programmes to educate, empower and emphasise the importance of therapeutic contact with patients for alcohol intervention. Scientific significance: The prompt identification and treatment of patients with alcohol problems are contingent on the workers’ attitudes towards them. This study’s results should spark a nation-wide interest to improve the training and recognition of such patients and providing adequate educational resources.

Biomedical Ethics

Chapter 9 addresses the duties of medical practitioners such as doctors and nurses, mostly in relation to patients, but also in respect of each other and their society. It argues that the relational moral theory is at least no worse than, and is often to be preferred over, more Western principles when it comes to how to understand several biomedical obligations. For example, the chapter maintains that the communal ethic makes good sense of whom a medical professional has moral reason to treat and for which purposes. It further contends that rightness as friendliness grounds moderate positions on abortion and euthanasia that many will find convincing but that utilitarianism and Kantianism have difficulty entailing and explaining. For example, if utilitarianism and Kantianism permit abortion, it is hard for them to avoid also permitting infanticide, but the relational ethic can more easily avoid that implication.

Work-Life Balance of Women Medical Professionals in the Healthcare Sector-A Systematic Literature Review

Purpose: Healthcare employees frequently put their personal needs aside for their professions, making it a challenge to maintain a healthy Work-Life Balance (WLB), particularly for women. WLB is a delicate balancing act between the importance and priorities of one's personal and professional paths, which are closely interwoven in every aspect. The Healthcare sector is rapidly expanding with female doctors and nurses accounting for a large portion of the workforce. Their job entails a variety of issues which include night shifts, prolonged shifts, fewer breaks, and high work pressure. When there is a positive organizational culture and supportive environment at work and home, female medical professionals will be able to offer excellent medical care, be more efficient, and enhance the quality of patient care. Hence it is necessary to identify various factors affecting the personal and professional life of female medical professionals and discuss ways to improve their WLB. Methodology: A systematic review was carried out on the existing literature of WLB of Female Doctors and Nurses using the keywords Work-Life Balance, Hospital, Female Doctors, Female Nurses in three search engines: PubMed, Google Scholars, and Academia. The eligible articles were screened using exclusion criteria before being analyzed for the conceptual framework of the study. Findings/Result: The review identified personal and professional factors affecting the WLB of Female Doctors and Nurses. The study also discovered various research gaps in the domain of WLB and offered several recommendations to help healthcare personnel improve their WLB. Originality/Value: The systematic research yielded a clear picture of the WLB in the healthcare industry. The study also discovered a link between female healthcare workers' WLB and personal and professional issues, as well as various ways for enhancing their WLB. Implementing these methods in the healthcare industry can help medical practitioners become more efficient and successful, allowing them to provide the highest suitable care to their patients. Paper Type: Systematic Review Paper.

A Qualitative Study Exploring Barriers and Facilitators to Establishing Nurse-led, Multidisciplinary Psychological Care for Trauma Patients: Experiences From Doctors and Nurses

BackgroundTrauma patients are often in a state of psychological stress, experiencing helplessness, sadness, frustration, irritation, avoidance, irritability and other adverse emotions. Doctors and nurses are at the forefront of caring trauma patients and they play a crucial role in psychological supports and mental health care. However, few qualitative studies had based on the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explore the experiences in providing psychological care for trauma patients. We examined attitudinal, normative, and control beliefs underpinning medical staffs’ decisions to perform psychological care.MethodA qualitative study of in-depth semi-structured interviews was conducted among 14 doctors and nurses engaging in trauma care. The participants came from six tertiary hospitals in Chongqing, China. Data analysis was performed using the approach of Colaizzi. According to the framework of TPB, the researchers identified and summarized the themes.ResultsImportant advantages (mutual trust, patients' adherence and recovery), disadvantages (workload, short-term ineffective, practice unconfidently), referents (supportive: managers, patients, kinsfolk, nursing culture; unsupportive: some colleagues and patients), barriers (insufficient time or energy, resources situations), and facilitators (access to psychologist, training/education, reminders) were identified. Some demands, such as training diversity, multidisciplinary cooperation and families' support, reflected by doctors and nurses were important for them to carry out psychological care.ConclusionAccording to the TPB, this article explored the internal and external promotion and hindrance factors that affecting the intentions and behaviors of doctors and nurses in implementing psychological care for trauma patients. We also focused on the experience and demands of health professionals in conducting psychological care, which could provide references for managers to formulate corresponding psychological care procedures and norms.

Investigation and Countermeasures of Medical Staff’s Demand for Nursing Workers in Chifeng

In order to understand the current demand of the medical staffs for nursing workers in Chifeng and to explore the practical management mode of nursing workers, 150 doctors and nurses were randomly selected from general tertiary hospitals in Chifeng to participate in a questionnaire survey. The objective of this study was to investigate the demand of nursing workers in tertiary hospitals in Chifeng and the satisfaction of medical staffs toward the existing nursing work. The results of the investigation were analyzed to provide countermeasures and suggestions for the nursing work in Chifeng.

Factors Associated with Intention to Comply with Infection Control Guidelines in Physicians and Nurses: An Analysis Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior

Purpose: This study aimed to identify factors affecting physicians and nurses’ intention to comply with healthcare-associated infection control guidelines, based on the theory of planned behavior.Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, descriptive survey. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires from 169 doctors and nurses at a tertiary hospital. Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the factors influencing intention to comply with healthcare-associated infection control guidelines.Results: The mean score of intention to comply with infection control guidelines was 17.17±2.60 points (possible range 3-21 points). The intention to comply with infection control guidelines was positively associated with subjective norms and perceived behavioral control over compliance with healthcare-associated infection control guidelines. In the multiple regression analysis, perceived behavioral control was the only significant predictor of intention to comply with healthcare-associated infection control guidelines.Conclusion: In order to encourage doctors and nurses to comply with infection control guidelines, it is necessary to provide resources, enhance the work environment, and utilize strategies to increase perceived behavioral control over compliance with infection control guidelines.

Exploring the Barriers and Levers to Hand Hygiene of Nursing and Medical Staff in Emergency Departments: A Mixed Methods Study

<p>Background: Emergency Departments (ED) frequently host patients with undiagnosed infectious conditions and patients who are vulnerable to infection. Minimising the risk of exposure to infectious diseases is a priority in healthcare and is managed using a variety of strategies. Hand hygiene (HH) underpins these strategies, but ED have lagged behind improvement in HH compared to other units in New Zealand public hospitals. Given the consequences of healthcare associated infections (HAI), further investigation is warranted to identify barriers and levers to HH in the challenging environment of ED. The aim of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to identify barriers and levers to HH practice in two ED in New Zealand. Design: The mixed methods study was conducted in two phases. In Phase One, a questionnaire was used to survey nurses and doctors in the two ED sites. In Phase Two, follow-on focus groups were used to explore in-depth, specific aspects of the survey results. Methods: In Phase One, doctors and nurses in the ED sites were surveyed to identify perceived barriers and levers of HH. A previously validated questionnaire from the United Kingdom was used. Following piloting, the questionnaire was circulated via email to all doctors and registered nurses. Results were analysed descriptively. Areas identified as strong barriers and levers to HH practice were identified, and used to inform development of a focus group interview guide. In Phase Two, focus group participants were identified from a self-selected convenience sample of survey respondents. Focus groups were audio-recorded and data transcribed verbatim into NVivo Pro 11 before undergoing thematic analysis. Results: The survey was distributed to doctors (n= 81) and nurses (n= 214). The response rate was low (11% for nurses, 12% for doctors). Two focus groups (n=6 & n=2) and one face to face interview (n=1) was held with nurses participating in each session. No medical staff participated in this phase of data collection. All respondents had worked in healthcare more than three years. Healthcare workers identified that professional role was the strongest lever for HH (93.1%, n=95), closely followed by knowledge and skills (84.3%, n=86). Healthcare workers demonstrated an awareness of benefits of HH including improving patient confidence and avoidance on infection for the patient and themselves (65.9%, n= 89). 45.6% (n=62) of responses identified a lack of encouragement or role modelling in this area of practice. The physical environment in the ED was a major barrier (53.7%, n=73) although shorter stays in ED were not perceived as a barrier to HH (73.5%, n= 25). High patient turnover and acuity were also perceived as barriers to HH. HH initiatives were perceived to have a marginal effect (55.3%, n=57). Social influences and communication were further barriers to HH, with healthcare workers identifying discomfort when challenging others about HH. Conclusion: Current barriers to HH including the environmental challenges, and social and cultural barriers to HH need to be addressed. Hand hygiene education that targets known challenges in, and misunderstandings about practice, need to be developed. Organisations must clearly articulate expectations of HH through policy and procedure, including a commitment to address non-compliance. Doctors and nurses should be supported in developing strategies to effectively communicate about, and challenge HH practices. With organisational support and a harnessing of the professional responsibilities that doctors and nurses hold, there is opportunity to strengthen barriers and mitigate barriers to HH.</p>