The stress and happiness levels of gastroenterologists in Turkiye and factors influencing them

Year 2024, , 598 - 603, 27.10.2024

Rasim Eren Cankurtaran , Dilara Turan Gökçe

https://doi.org/10.32322/jhsm.1544437

Abstract

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the stress and happiness levels of gastroenterologists in Turkiye and the factors affecting them.
Methods: The authors designed a 25-question questionnaire to investigate gastroenterologists’ stress and happiness levels and the reasons that may affect them. Documents containing the questions were sent to 405 gastroenterologists working in Turkiye between October and December 2023 by phone or email via Google Forms.
Results: A total of 126 participants, 65.1% of whom were male and 52.4% of whom were under 40 years of age, took part in our study. A median score of 4 on a 5-point Likert scale was obtained when participants were asked about their general level of stress. When the general happiness status was analysed, it was concluded that this median value was below the stress values with 3. The general happiness had the strongest positive correlation with workload satisfaction and career planning happiness (r=0.56, p<0.001 and r=0.46, p<0.001, respectively). The general stress level was most negatively correlated with happiness from work intensity satisfaction and support from hospital management (r=-0.43, p<0.001 and r=-0.30, p<0.001, respectively).
Conclusion: Our study showed that gastroenterologists in Turkiye have a significant level of stress and a neutral level of happiness. It was observed that the most important stress factor is workload, which has a direct effect on the level of happiness and stress. Some participants in our study considered leaving the country due to stress, posing a risk to the future provision of gastroenterology services in Turkiye.

Keywords

Gastroenterologist, stress, happiness, workload, emotional health

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