3. RESULTS
Of all the 500 family medicine physicians in the present study, 56.4% of them were female while 43.6% were male, with the mean age of 37. ± 9.6 (25-63) years. The majority of the participants (55.7%) were reported to be working in a family health centre (FHC). Table 1 presents the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants.
Of all the participants, 91.8% (n=459) of them were reported to be working in the COVID-19 related units (Table 2).
In the study, the anxiety status of 500 family physicians before the vaccination was assessed and 40.6% (n=203) were found to experience anxiety about the viral epidemic with a score of ≥15.
When the SAVE-9 scale and sub-scale scores of the participants were examined, the scores of anxiety about the viral epidemic (p<0.001) and of work-related stress associated with the viral epidemic (p=0.020) were found to be significantly higher in female physicians. No significant relationship was found between the variables of age, marital status, smoking, having a child, and anxiety and stress scores, whereas the group that considered themselves as having inadequate income had statistically significantly higher scores of anxiety about the viral epidemic and of work-related stress associated with the viral epidemic (p<0.001) (Table 3).
A negative correlation was found between the level of income and the SAVE-9 scale and subscale scores, according to which anxiety and stress scores were found to increase as the level of income decreased (Table 4).
When the participants were evaluated according to their COVID-19-related workplaces, it appeared that the scores of anxiety about the viral epidemic (p=0.027) along with the total scores of anxiety and stress (p=0.033) in physicians actively working in COVID-19 units were found to be statistically significantly higher than those scores of the participants who never worked or who previously worked, but not currently working in such units. Work-related stress scores were found to be significantly higher in the group who had been infected and recovered from the COVID-19 infection (p=0.017) (Table 5).
In the present study, when the family physicians were evaluated in terms of their duties in the units related to the COVID-19, the concern of infecting the family members of the group who worked actively in the units related to COVID-19 was found to be significantly higher (p=0.009) in comparison to the group who previously worked in the units related to COVID-19, but are not currently working and the groups who have never worked in the units related to the COVID-19.
The examination of whether or not the family physicians in the group of 50 participants in the present study had received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine revealed that 92% (n=46) were already vaccinated.
After the COVID-19 vaccination, this subgroup of 50 participants were re-administered the scale for the purpose of comparing the responses with those received at the beginning. After the re-administration, a significant decline was observed in the family physicians’ scores of anxiety about the viral epidemic after vaccination (p=0.001), while no significant change was found in work-related stress scores (p=0.078) (Table 6).
The multiple linear regression analysis of the factors affecting the total scores in the SAVE-9 scale has shown that the variables of being female (β=0.240; p<0.001), working in the FHC (β=0.123; p=0.010), being married (β=0.095; p=0.029), smoking (β=0.086; p=0.042), presence of chronic disease (β=0.103; p=0.016), currently working in the COVID-19 related units (β=0.092; p=0.034), and having been infected and recovered from the COVID-19 were positively correlated with the total scores of the SAVE-9 scale, and that the stress scores were higher in those participants. We also found that the participants’ SAVE-9 scale scores decreased with an increasing income level (β=-0.282; p<0.001) (Table 7).