Patterns and determinants of stress among consultant physicians working in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background

Physicians experience several work-related stressors that have been mounting up in recent decades. This study aimed to examine perceived stress and its risk factors and consequences among consultant physicians in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2014 to March 2015 among physicians who were assigned rank of consultant. The stress level was assessed using perceived stress scale (PSS).

Results

A total of 582 consultants participated. The average age was 46.9±7.9 years, 71% were males, 56% were Saudi, 15% were smokers, and 68% slept ≤6 hours per night. The median PSS score was 17 (interquartile range of 14–21), which represented 44% of maximum possible PSS score. The upper tertile of PSS score (represents a high stress level) was significantly associated with being younger, female, and Saudi. The majority (85%) considered job environment to be stressful and ~50% attributed that to a high workload and a noncooperative administration. In the year preceding this study, half of consultants frequently contemplated or even worked toward changing their medical institutes or even moving to work outside Saudi Arabia because of perception of a stressful working environment. Over the previous year, encountering life stressors, considering job environment as stressful and experiencing passive suicidal ideation, were significantly associated with higher levels of stress. In multivariate analysis, the following factors were independently associated with stress: female gender (odds ratio [OR]=2.41, 95% CI 1.58–3.70) and perceived stressful working environment (OR=3.66, 95% CI 1.87–7.17).

Conclusion

Consultant physicians in Saudi Arabia experience moderate to high levels of perceived stress that are relatively comparable to physicians worldwide. A significant association was found between stress levels and both female gender and perception of a stressful working environment. Further studies are required to assess physician-based interventions and organization-directed approaches to management of stress among physicians.

Keywords:

• stress
• Saudi Arabia
• consultants
• patterns
• risk factors

Acknowledgments

The authors extend their appreciation to the deanship of scientific research, King Saud University for funding this work through the Student’s Research Support Program, project no. USRSP-17-24. Furthermore, the authors would like to express their gratitude to Ashry Mohamed (Professor of Epidemiology and Family and Community Medicine), Abdulaziz Alzeer (Associate Professor of Medicine, Critical Care and Ethics), Mohammed Fouda (Professor of Cardiac Surgery), Mohammed Alzoghaibi (Associate Professor of Physiology), and Fatima Al Haider (Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) for their assistance in validation of the study questionnaire. Additionally, the authors thank Dr Aiman El-Saed (Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics) for his assistance in data analysis. The work was not supported or funded by any drug company. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties, but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not publicly available. Data are however available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.