One third of the medical profession considers itself to have poor mental health

Three years after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, the mental health of medical professionals has not improved; in some aspects, it has even worsened.

This is shown by the results of the second survey on the impact of COVID-19 on the health and professional practice of doctors in Spain , prepared by the Galatea Foundation , the Foundation for Social Protection of the Spanish Medical Association, and the Mutual Medical Foundation . This is a second edition of the online survey conducted in 2020, which this time received responses from almost 4,000 professionals between November 2022 and February 2023.

A third of the professionals surveyed believe their mental health is fair or poor (32%) and that it is at risk (48%). They feel overwhelmed (38%) or burned out (43%). These figures are particularly noteworthy among women and those working in Primary Care Centers and on temporary contracts. In these cases, 16% report having depression or anxiety disorders, and 25% take some type of medication for this reason.

The report argues that their health problems are associated with a worsening of working conditions :

• Job insecurity : 27% of those surveyed have a temporary or interim contract.
• Excessive working hours : 52% of doctors work more than 40 hours a week, and 29% more than 50 hours (especially younger doctors, those in hospitals, and those with temporary contracts in the public sector). These percentages are similar to those seen during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020.
• Work overload : they consider that their workload is higher (41%) or much higher (37%) than before the pandemic, especially women and people who work in primary care.

In addition to the impact of working conditions, the mental health problems of the medical community are also associated with the perception of a worse valuation of their profession by the work environment , especially by management teams and management, which has been progressively worsening since 2020, as well as by the social environment : during the first wave of the pandemic, 72% felt well valued, while in the winter of 2022, that percentage has reached only 28%.

Thus, the profile of professionals most affected by this general worsening of mental health are women, under 35 years of age, with temporary or interim contracts, MIRs (Medical Intern Residents) and the field of primary care.

All of this has led to an increase in visits to mental health services by healthcare professionals. Sixty percent of them are current or potential users of these services, compared to 24% in 2020, and 38% have used or are currently using such services, either privately (39%) or through services exclusively for healthcare professionals (35%).

Photography: Catalan Institute of Health