Prevalence of Anxiety and Factors Associated with Anxiety among Resident Doctors in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in South Eastern Rajasthan

Abstract

Medical residency has been recognized as a period during which residents in training face a series of extreme emotional situations, such as  long working hours, sleep deprivation, lack of autonomy and constant contact with human sufferings leading to anxiety. Anxiety in  residents is an important problem because of the potential risk it imposes on individual health and medical care. The aim of this study is to  estimate the prevalence of anxiety and identify the associated risk factors associated with anxiety among resident doctors. A cross sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital. 200 resident doctors who fulfilled the inclusion criteria for the study  were included in the study. Data was analysed by using SPSS version 21 software. Statistical analysis included chi-square-test,  correlation, multivariate analysis, unpaired t test.  Overall prevalence of anxiety in resident doctors was 25.5 %, out of them 21.5% were suffering from mild anxiety and 4% were suffering  from moderate anxiety. Mean anxiety score was more in female residents, General Medicine resident doctors, clinical speciality, surgical  speciality, first year resident doctors and resident doctors who reported less sleeping hours and more working hours. This study throws  light on the psychological problem like anxiety among resident doctors. The factors associated with anxiety were female gender, younger  age, unmarried marital status, living single, sleep deprivation, prolonged working hours and first year of residency.