Abstract:

Objective To investigate the anxiety status and professional stress of doctors, and explore their relationship with hospitals and departments. Methods A quantitative self-reporting questionnaire composed with Stressors Scale for Doctors and self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) was performed to evaluate the anxiety status and professional stress of doctors randomly selected from public hospitals in Yangpu District of Shanghai. The sample numbers of each class of hospitals were determined by the staff allocation standard enacted by the Ministry of Health. Results The average score of anxiety state by SAS of 332 participants (effective rate, 96%) was 36.62±7.01, significantly higher than the Chinese norm (P<0.01), while there was no significant difference by marriage status, gender, education degree, hospital classes and departments (P>0.05). The general average score of stress was 2.39±1.09 (mild to moderate level), and the main stressors were medical risks, salary load and understanding and support from patients. There were significant differences in stress levels among doctors in various classes of hospitals (P=0.000), with those in the community hospitals being the lowest and those of the municipal hospitals being the highest. Besides, surgeons experienced greater stress than doctors of the other departments. Conclusion The anxiety status of doctors in Yangpu District of Shanghai is similar in different classes of hospitals and in different departments, and is more severe than that of the general population. Medical risk is the major source of stress in each class of hospitals. Doctors in community hospitals experience the least stress due to beneficial policies, those in districtal hospitals have an ambiguous functional authority, and those in municipal hospitals suffer the greatest professional pressure. The status of anxiety and stress of doctors is related to the contradiction between patients and doctors.

Key words: anxiety, sources of stress, doctors, three classes of public hospitals