Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the psycho-emotional impact and the adjustment degree of Romanian general practitioners (GPs) in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic context. With a cross-sectional design, the study included 677 GPs to whom a validated questionnaire based on different items targeting three factors was sent: burden of prevention, presence of stress symptoms, and adjustment to pandemic. The burden of prevention and the adjustment effort to the pandemic were felt significantly more by female doctors and by GPs working in associated offices. The case definition quality, the support received, the professional life changes, and the stress symptoms proved to be the main predictors for the adjustment to pandemic. The adjustment measurement questionnaire can be used in further studies to identify the most supportive public health practices in difficult epidemiological contexts.
Highlights
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak caused by the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) an international pandemic
Doctors had to deal with different simultaneous challenges: (i) preventing the virus transmission; (ii) protecting the medical staff and teaching ways to prevent the spread of the virus; (iii) adapting the management and providing the necessary materials for the specific COVID-19 medical services; and (iv) preserving its state of health and well-being [1,2]
The general practitioners (GPs) included in the study are considered to have received inefficient and insufficient support from the authorities, especially GPs with preexisting chronic diseases who have a diminished work capacity and endurance
Summary
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak caused by the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) an international pandemic. Doctors had to deal with different simultaneous challenges: (i) preventing the virus transmission; (ii) protecting the medical staff and teaching ways to prevent the spread of the virus; (iii) adapting the management and providing the necessary materials for the specific COVID-19 medical services; and (iv) preserving its state of health and well-being [1,2]. The fourth factor is very finely insinuated into our existence, being embedded in it, which makes it difficult to be perceived separately—the pressure of social media and mass media [4,5]
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