Physical and Mental Health Among Surgeons in Gansu Province, China

Abstract

China is a developing country with a population of more than 1.4 billion, and people are demanding higher quality health care. Meanwhile, population aging and changes in the disease spectrum put new demands on medical and health services, indirectly promoting the rapid development of medicine and raised the tension of physician–patient relationship, which has led to increasing pressure on doctors, especially surgeons. Notably, the high risk of major operation and complicated postoperative conditions result in high comprehensive quality and high mental pressure of surgeons. In addition, the long hours for major operations, bright light stimulation, and fixed positions with a long time led to heavier burden for surgeons, whose physical and mental health need to be focused and researched. Thus, in this study, from May 1, 2021 to July 30, 2021, 316 surgeons in the Provincial General Hospital of Gansu were surveyed on their physical and mental health, and finally, the efficiency of questionnaires was 99%. The results found that most surgeons thought that they were under great pressure in scientific research, professional title, and work. About half of surgeons with experience of medical disputes felt depression and anxiety during medical disputes, of which only 8.14% did not receive professional psychological counseling. About one-third surgeons had different physical diseases and only 32% expressed that they had good physical health status. According to the result of self-report symptom checklist (SCL-90), the top five in percentage order of diseases were cervical spondylosis, digestive diseases, lumbar disease, fatty liver, and hyperlipidemia for surgeons. About 37% surgeons had mental health issues, and the main aspects were obsessive-compulsive, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, somatization, and anxiety. The workload and disease were the main influence factors on mental health of surgeons in Gansu Province, China.