Wellness Among Interventional Radiologists: Results From a Multidimensional Survey

Abstract

To evaluate wellness among interventional radiologists using a multidimensional survey. An anonymous 53-item survey, including 36 Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS) prompts, was created in Qualtrics (an online survey tool) to assess wellness among interventional radiology attendings and residents. The survey was open from June toSeptember, 2022, 2 years into the COVID-19 Pandemic. The survey was distributed via Society of Interventional Radiology Forums, social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook), and personal correspondence. PWS scores were categorized into Wellness Composite and subscores (physical, emotional, intellectual, psychological, social, and spiritual). 367 surveys were completed. 300 (81.7%) respondents were male and 67 (18.3%) were female. Respondents included attending physicians (297; 81.0%) and residents (70; 19.0%). Practice settings included academic (174; 47.4%), private (114; 31.0%), private-academic hybrid (62; 16.9%), and others (17; 4.7%). Mean Wellness Composite at academic centers (14.74±3.16; range: 5.42-23.50) was significantly lower than at private (15.22±3.37; range: 6.13-23.51) and hybrid (16.14±2.47; range: 10.20-23.50) practices (p=0.01). Respondents <40 years old had significantly lower emotional wellness subscores compared to those ≥40 years old (4.34±0.86 vs. 4.60±0.87; p=0.006). There were no significant differences between geographic regions in the United States, however, International respondents had significantly lower social and intellectual wellness (INT) subscores. Physical wellness subscore (4.00±0.9) was significantly lower than the other subscores (4.59±0.81) (p<.001). Overall mean Wellness Composite was 15.11±3.13 (range: 5.42-23.51). Overall self-reported wellness was lower among interventional radiologists practicing at academic centers. Interventional Radiologists <40 years old and residents had lower emotional wellness, while international respondents had lower social and INT. Overall wellness scores were lower than prior PWS studies.