Abstract:
Introduction. The doctor is the person, who plays the key role in maintaining the human
health, thus showing both a decisive and a major role in the treatment and recovery of the
whole population. Therefore, greater attention should be paid to healthcare staff, since
their overall health condition is directly dependent upon the health care quality provided
to patients and, consequently, resulting in patients’ faster recovery and employment. The
study of both characteristics and risk factors of healthcare personnel activity is an important current issue. This paper aimed to evaluate the characteristics therapeutic patients, as well as to develop means of improving the health condition of therapists.
Material and methods. A cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out. The
study included 51 physicians, who work within public medical institutions from the Republic of Moldova. The research was conducted between 2019-2020. The total number of
physicians consisted of 72.5% of females and 27.5% of males. The mean age was
46.15±0.91 years. Questionnaires and data from specialized literature were used for collecting primary data. Primary data processing was performed on the computer via the
Microsoft Excel statistical program.
Results. The working conditions of the therapeutic department were assessed. Thus,
31.4% of doctors reported working less than 7 hours/day, 31.4% – 8 hours/day, and
37.3% more than 8 hours/day. Night shifts were reported in 27.5% of cases, whereas only
29.4% were satisfied with their current salary. 70.58% of personnel have a meal break
and 49% of doctors have their main meals. Forensic issues were reported in 11.8% of
cases. As regarding the sleeping hours, 62.7% of personnel sleep less than 7 h/day, 33.3%
– 7/8 h/day, and 3.9% more than 8 h/day. The assessment of stress triggers showed the
following results: 33.3% doctors feel stressed daily, 52.9% – weekly, and 13.7% – never
feel stressed. The stressful conditions were reported mainly due to collective employment
conflicts viz. 19.6% of cases. Physicians were found to be exposed to the following risk
factors: chemicals – in 17.64% cases, biological factors – 29.41%, ionizing radiation –
13.72%, noise (ventilation devices) – 1.96%, ultrasound – 1.96%, 5.88% are exposed to
stress, and 29.4% doctors reported no exposure to the above listed risk factors. The presence of chronic diseases was reported in 45% of doctors, each doctor suffering from two
or more chronic disorders simultaneously. The most common ones included hypertension, diabetes and chronic pancreatitis. 11.76% of doctors frequently suffered from severe diseases. Occasional alcohol consumption was registered in 72.5% of cases, of which
17.6% were smokers. On the other hand, daily sports practice was reported by 17.6% of
doctors, occasionally – 56.9% and 25.5% – did not practice sports.
Conclusions. Most physicians reported daily exposure to risk factors and a high level of
stress, including poor salary satisfaction, which may eventually have an impact on both
the personnel health and activity.
