Magnitude and pattern of anxiety levels with gender wise predilection of coping strategies amid resident doctors of emergency department

  • Sehrish Zehra, Dr. Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences
  • Farhan Muhammad Qureshi, Dr. Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences
  • Smaira Faiz, Dr. Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences
  • Kanwal Khalid, Dr. Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences
Keywords: Anxiety, coping strategies, GAD-7, resident, doctors, doctors, teaching hospitals, emergency department

Abstract

Objectives: To screen and assess the severity level of anxiety, its influencing factors along with the gender-wise predilection of coping strategies among resident doctors working in accident and emergency departments.

Methods: A transverse study was conducted amongst 260 resident doctors of accident and emergency department of different teaching hospitals of Karachi from October 2020 until March 2021. A demographic sheet containing questions related to factors, GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and Brief COPE were used to measure the severity level of anxiety and coping strategies. Data was scored according to the standard scoring procedure for each subscale and for further statistical analysis SPSS Version 21 was used.

Results: Out of all participants, 68.1% were <30 years of age, 63.1% were females while 54.2% were single. The findings of the study showed the prevalence of anxiety within the range of normal (38.1%), mild (35.0%), moderate (16.9%) and severe (10.0%). Gender (p= 0.001), marital status (p= 0.040) and job satisfaction (p= 0.007) among resident doctors were significantly associated with level of anxiety. Deemed to coping strategies, the most frequently were planning (n=145, 90.0%), acceptance (n=141, 87.6%), and religion (n=137, 85.1 %). All coping strategies were mostly opted by females except substance abuse.

Conclusion: More than a half of the resident doctors manifested with mild to severe anxiety disorder, which highlights the need for psychological support programs to minimize anxiety levels and to ensure a healthy environment at workplace for the health practitioners.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.4.5105

How to cite this:
Zehra S, Qureshi FM, Faiz S, Khalid K. Magnitude and pattern of anxiety levels with gender wise predilection of coping strategies amid resident doctors of emergency department. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(4):844-849.  doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.4.5105

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Author Biographies

Sehrish Zehra, Dr., Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences

Lecturer

Department of Community Health Sciences

Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences

National University of Medical Sciences

Farhan Muhammad Qureshi, Dr., Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences

Assistant Professor

Department of Community Health Sciences

Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences

National University of Medical Sciences

Smaira Faiz, Dr., Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences

Assistant Professor

Department of Community Health Sciences

Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences

National University of Medical Sciences

Kanwal Khalid, Dr., Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences

Assistant Professor

Department of Community Health Sciences

Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences

National University of Medical Sciences

Published
2022-03-05
How to Cite
Zehra, S., Qureshi, F. M., Faiz, S., & Khalid, K. (2022). Magnitude and pattern of anxiety levels with gender wise predilection of coping strategies amid resident doctors of emergency department. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 38(4). https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.4.5105