Assessing the Mental Impact and Burnout among Physicians during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Developing Country Single-Center Experience

Abstract. Health-care workers are on the front line to combat the peculiar coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic and are susceptible to acquiring this infection. This study is aimed at documenting the effect of “coronaphobia” on mental well-being and to report burnout among physicians. The study was conducted as a cross-sectional survey between November 17, 2020 and January 1, 2021 via a Google form distributed among the physicians of a tertiary care hospital, in Karachi, Pakistan. The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) was used to assess the mental well-being of physicians. Burnout was documented by using the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel. Eighty-seven physicians participated in the survey (mean age, 30.9 ± 7.3 years). The mean WEMWBS score of the study participants was 51.6 ± 10.8. Regarding the WEMWBS, emotional exhaustion was observed in 54% (N = 47) of participants, depersonalization in 77% (N = 67), and low personal accomplishment was reported in 31% (N = 27) of participants. The results of the survey further highlight that depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and low personal accomplishment were associated significantly with a history of COVID-19 infection and COVID-19 postings. Hence, immediate measures are required to reduce the burnout among physicians while battling the second wave of the pandemic.