Qualitative study to explore UK medical students’ and junior doctors’ experiences of occupational stress and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
Objectives This qualitative study aimed to explore the occupational experiences of medical students and junior doctors working during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the research sought to identify factors which mediated work stress, barriers to disclosing mental health problems and levels of...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2022-12-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/12/e065639.full |
| _version_ | 1811178187746443264 |
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| author | Evangelia Demou James Tawse |
| author_facet | Evangelia Demou James Tawse |
| author_sort | Evangelia Demou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives This qualitative study aimed to explore the occupational experiences of medical students and junior doctors working during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the research sought to identify factors which mediated work stress, barriers to disclosing mental health problems and levels of support medical students and junior doctors received during the pandemic.Design This study was a form of thematic analysis and adopted an inductive, ‘bottom-up’ approach, in which coded categories were derived from rich, descriptive data.Setting Semistructured interviews were conducted online with UK-based medical students and junior doctors. Interviews were recorded, and analysis was done by coding salient quotes into themes.Participants The final sample consisted of seven junior doctors and eight medical students, during the summer of 2021.Results High levels of occupational stress were identified, which were exacerbated by COVID-19. A number of organisational difficulties associated with the pandemic compounded participants’ experiences of work stress. Participants recognised progress towards promoting and managing mental health within the profession but may still be reluctant to access support services. Barriers to disclosure included fear of stigmatisation, concerns about adding to colleagues’ workloads, lack of clarity about career implications and mistrust of occupational health services.Conclusions While attitudes towards mental health have improved, medical students and junior doctors may avoid seeking help. Given the immense pressures faced by health services, it is imperative that extra measures are implemented to minimise work-stress, encourage help-seeking behaviours and promote supportive work cultures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:15:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8a61220d81c740d094adf6d9072fda61 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:15:22Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-8a61220d81c740d094adf6d9072fda612022-12-22T04:41:05ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552022-12-01121210.1136/bmjopen-2022-065639Qualitative study to explore UK medical students’ and junior doctors’ experiences of occupational stress and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemicEvangelia Demou0James Tawse1MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UKUniversity of Glasgow College of Social Sciences, Glasgow, UKObjectives This qualitative study aimed to explore the occupational experiences of medical students and junior doctors working during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the research sought to identify factors which mediated work stress, barriers to disclosing mental health problems and levels of support medical students and junior doctors received during the pandemic.Design This study was a form of thematic analysis and adopted an inductive, ‘bottom-up’ approach, in which coded categories were derived from rich, descriptive data.Setting Semistructured interviews were conducted online with UK-based medical students and junior doctors. Interviews were recorded, and analysis was done by coding salient quotes into themes.Participants The final sample consisted of seven junior doctors and eight medical students, during the summer of 2021.Results High levels of occupational stress were identified, which were exacerbated by COVID-19. A number of organisational difficulties associated with the pandemic compounded participants’ experiences of work stress. Participants recognised progress towards promoting and managing mental health within the profession but may still be reluctant to access support services. Barriers to disclosure included fear of stigmatisation, concerns about adding to colleagues’ workloads, lack of clarity about career implications and mistrust of occupational health services.Conclusions While attitudes towards mental health have improved, medical students and junior doctors may avoid seeking help. Given the immense pressures faced by health services, it is imperative that extra measures are implemented to minimise work-stress, encourage help-seeking behaviours and promote supportive work cultures.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/12/e065639.full |
| spellingShingle | Evangelia Demou James Tawse Qualitative study to explore UK medical students’ and junior doctors’ experiences of occupational stress and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic BMJ Open |
| title | Qualitative study to explore UK medical students’ and junior doctors’ experiences of occupational stress and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | Qualitative study to explore UK medical students’ and junior doctors’ experiences of occupational stress and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Qualitative study to explore UK medical students’ and junior doctors’ experiences of occupational stress and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Qualitative study to explore UK medical students’ and junior doctors’ experiences of occupational stress and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | Qualitative study to explore UK medical students’ and junior doctors’ experiences of occupational stress and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | qualitative study to explore uk medical students and junior doctors experiences of occupational stress and mental health during the covid 19 pandemic |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/12/e065639.full |
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