Health, wellbeing, and burnout among young cardiovascular professionals – an international survey
C Camm, A Cannata, E Romero Dorta, J M ter Maaten, E Bobbio, J Grand, S Kraler, S Mosteoru, A Gasecka, M Kyriakou, M Manninger, M RubiniAbstract
Introduction
Health and wellbeing issues are common among healthcare professionals, particularly in the cardiovascular field, and have been linked to adverse patient outcomes. Nonetheless, the burden of health, wellbeing, and burnout issues within early-career cardiovascular professionals (ECCVP) among European Society of Cardiology (ESC) members is unknown.
Methods
An online survey was conducted among ESC members <40 years of age. The questionnaire was distributed to ESC members via email and advertised on social media. Respondents provided information on their demographics, professional background, and their physical and mental health. Symptoms of depression were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), anxiety with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and burnout through a validated 2-item inventory.
Results
Among 644 responses to the survey, 332 individuals across 63 countries provided data on their health and wellbeing. Fifty percent of respondents were women (n=165) and the median age was 34 years (IQR 31 to 37 years). Most respondents were physicians (n=307, 92%) with most either undertaking general cardiology training (129/307, 42%) or practicing as a cardiologist (128/307, 42%). Over 90% of respondents reported a perceived problem with health and wellbeing in cardiology (n=302, 91%). The majority of respondents described suffering from burnout either currently (n=109, 33%) or in the past (n=125, 38%). A plurality of respondents reported a current physical health condition (n=141, 42%) with most reporting that work makes their physical health worse (n=192, 58%) or much worse (n=37, 11%, Figure 1). When considering respondents’ mental health, 32% (n=107) self-reported having a mental health condition, with the majority reporting that work makes their mental health worse (n=160, 49%) or much worse (n=37, 11%, Figure 1). Based on responses to the PHQ-9 questionnaire, the majority of respondents reported depressive symptoms (n=212, 64%) with 28% reporting symptoms of at least moderate depression (n=95, 29%, Figure 2). Similarly, based on the GAD-7 survey, most respondents reported at least mild anxiety symptoms (n=188, 57%) with approximately a quarter reporting symptoms of at least moderate anxiety (n=80, 24%, Figure 2).
Conclusions
Mental and physical health conditions are common among ECCVP across ESC member countries and most survey respondents describe symptoms of either anxiety or depression. Most respondents feel that both their physical and mental health is impacted negatively by their work. These results highlight an impending crisis in the health of cardiovascular professionals requiring dedicated attention to mitigate the negative cascade effect to both cardiovascular professionals and patients. As Europe’s leading cardiovascular society, the ESC should lead the shaping of a supportive culture by initiating concrete wellbeing initiatives to measurably improve the daily experience of ECCVP.Figure 1Figure 2