Quality of Life of Bangladeshi Doctors in the COVID-19 era: Are We Taking Good Care of Our Carers?

The Coronavirus pandemic has been affecting our healthcare professionals physically as well as psychologically since March 2020. Whilst various measures have been taken to protect their physical health, their mental wellbeing has not been brought into attention. We aimed to assess the well-being of Bangladeshi doctors and identify the high-risk group using a core-10 validated form. We performed an observational cross-sectional survey among Bangladeshi healthcare professionals. One hundred one (101) doctors filled out the core-10 form. We collected data over a 1-month-period during the first peak of COVID-19. According to our data, majority of the participants (49%) felt anxious or nervous at some point. Thirty one percent (31%) felt hopeless, unhappy even panic attacks but most significant finding was that 21% participants had at least once thought about ending their lives. This is a matter of concern and the workplaces should identify the vulnerable professionals so that they can be supported better mentally and socially. More than half of the participants (55%) were found to have moderate to severe depression in the first peak of COVID 19 pandemic. This is not over yet; more waves are coming. Therefore, it is really important that we address this issue before it is too late and ensure regular counselling, better childcare for working parents, safety measures to protect their families and financial security. Otherwise, we might exhaust our carers to a level where even they cannot help us survive this global challenge.