Perceived implications of COVID-19 on physical, mental and social aspects of resident doctors in a tertiary care hospital.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has put health care systems of many countries under major stress. Due to its high transmission capacity, it has spread across the globe at a rampant pace. India is one of the countries which has been severely affected by COVID-19. It has posed onerous tasks in front of doctors. Along with it, it has left physical, social and mental implications on well-being of doctors. The purpose of this study is to get an in-depth understanding about the implications of COVID-19 on physical, social and mental aspects of resident doctors in tertiary care hospital. We performed a qualitative study which involved in-depth interviews of resident doctors who have worked during the COVID-19 pandemic from general medicine department of tertiary care hospital. Interviews were then manually transcribed and analyzed. Data analysis by preparing transcript unveiled that doctors were constantly facing burnout and mental distress along with less social support. Our study also found that there was a shortage of resources and demonstrated poor doctor patient ratio which led to a decrease in efficiency of doctors. Our findings are not only confined to doctors facing burden but has also explored sanguine perceptions of resident doctors. While treating COVID-19 patients, resident doctors suffered a great setback. Providing them with mental aid, social support, ample resources and decreasing their work burden is recommended to effectively manage future pandemic.