Behaviour and attitudes of Spanish physicians towards their own process of falling ill: Study protocol and validation of CAMAPE questionnaire

Why do physicians go to work when they are sick? Presenteeism at different career stages

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE

Physicians find it difficult to take on the role of the patient and they show unusual behaviors when ill. One of these behaviors is presenteeism, which is working while sick. The objective of this research is to analyze the factors that contribute to the phenomenon of presenteeism in Spanish physicians.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Mixed methodology study: one national survey through the General Council of Medical Associations website (quantitative part), 22 semistructured interviews with sick residents and practicing physicians, and three focus groups involving professionals from the occupational health services (qualitative). A bivariate analysis using parametric and non-parametric tests. The significance level was p<0.05 (95% confidence interval). Qualitative analysis using the comparative-constant method until saturation of information.

RESULTS

Presenteeism is reported by 89.4% of doctors who responded to the survey, and it is more common among women. Contributing factors include fear of overburdening colleagues (the main reason and more common among women 58.14% vs 48.35%), self-perception of doing one's duty (the second reason and more common among men, 44.63% vs 33.14%) and economic impact and difficulty in accepting the role of a sick person. This behavior has an impact on patient safety, and is part of the hidden curriculum that also affects the training of medical professionals.

CONCLUSIONS

Presenteeism is a widespread and accepted practice among medical professionals. Although normalized, and even appreciated as a way to avoid overburdening colleagues, presenteeism has important implications for clinical ethics and patient safety.

Gender analysis of Spanish National Questionnaire on behaviours and attitudes of doctors towards their own illness (CAMAPE)

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

Physicians' health is a key element for quality healthcare. Medical professionals have difficulty accepting their role as patients and it might be different among sexes. The aim was to describe behaviours and attitudes of doctors towards their own illness.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An online survey was launched through the General Council of Medical Associations webpage for all Spanish registered doctors. A bivariate analysis by sex was performed for all the questionnaire variables using parametric and non-parametric tests. The significance level was p<0.05 (95% confidence interval).

RESULTS

A total of 4,308 registered doctors (1,858 men and 2,450 women) answered. Women were younger, single, and worked mainly in non-surgical specialities in the public sector. Men were older, married, and worked more frequently in public-private practice. Women had less chronic conditions, except for anxiety disorders (11.52% vs 15.18%). Both sexes, especially women, primarily self-treated (94.29% vs 95.02%), went to work while ill (88.16% vs 90.29%), visited their GP (56% vs 70%), and half of them underwent annual occupational health checks (40% vs 48%). Women self-prescribed more analgesics (93.43% vs 95.63%), more presenteeism (88% vs 90%) and felt more insecure when treating sick fellows (9.96% vs 20.12%) and requested training for it. More women agreed to make deontological recommendations about doctors' health (91.55% vs 96.16%) and considered revalidation may contribute to improve doctors' health (65.29% vs 66.16%).

CONCLUSIONS

Male and female doctors show illness-health behaviours and attitudes at work to improve. There are differences among male and female doctors. Regarding, medical feminization, ethical recommendations may be of benefit regarding doctors' health-illness issues and considering gender perspective.