PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

Aim: The health of the medical staff is an important factor for adequate patient care. So far, no comprehensive studies on the health of physicians are available. Usually, related studies only consider single aspects of physical or psychological health. The aim of our study was to investigate the general health status, the perception of stress, and the work ability in anaesthesiologists employed at university hospitals in Germany, taking workplace-specific factors into consideration. Study population and methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was performed. The study was conducted as a multicentre study at 12 university hospitals in Germany from April 2013 to March 2014. Focusing on anaesthesiologists, a standardized questionnaire was used. The data were analysed descriptively and bivariately. Ethical approval was obtained by several responsible ethical commissions, the participation was voluntary. Results: 632 anaesthesiologists participated in the survey (participation rate: 47.7%). 93.8% of the respondents rated their general health as good, very good or excellent. The most common diseases were allergies and diseases of the musculoskeletal system. The Well-Being Index scores (WHO-5) were the lowest among the specialists. The analysis of the perceived stress showed a statistically significantly higher stress level in respondents aged 35-44 (p=0.018). Specialists had significantly lower work ability scores than their colleagues working on other hierarchy levels (p<0.001). Conclusions: The health of anaesthesiologists at university hospitals in Germany is generally good, but improvement is needed in the areas of wellbeing, stress perception and work ability. The enormous influence of the medical staff's health status on patient safety and on economic aspects makes clear that health promotion interventions are necessary for university hospital anaesthesiologists in both the professional and private setting.