Depressive symptoms among anaesthetists in a department of anaesthesiology

Abstract

Background: Depression has been shown to be more prevalent among doctors than people within the general population. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms as well as the coping mechanisms used to manage these symptoms among anaesthetists in the Department of Anaesthesiology at Wits. Methods: A prospective, contextual, descriptive study using convenience sampling was carried out. The self-administered nine question Patient Health Questionnaire was adapted to determine the presence of depressive symptoms and coping mechanisms. Results: It was found that 22.2% of participants have depressive symptoms. Significantly more females were depressed (p-value= 0.027). There was no significant difference between single and married participants or participants with a life partner (p-value= 0.4929), between participants with children and those without (p-value= 0.5070), or between senior and junior anaesthetists (p-value= 0.5147).The most commonly used coping mechanism in our study is talking to family and friends (67.5). Only 21.4% of all participants see a therapist or counsellor and of the participants who had a score of 12 or more on the PHQ-9, 39.3% see a therapist or counsellor. Conclusion: The level of depressive symptoms in the Department of Anaesthesiology at Wits is 22.2% and this is double that of the general South African population. Significantly more females are depressed and the most commonly used coping mechanisms are talking to family, friends or a partner, exercise, and alcohol use. Only a small proportion (39.3%) of depressed participants seek help from a professional