Presenteeism In Case of A Disease Or Illness And Its Relationship With Anxiety And Depression Amongst Doctors In A Tertiary Care Hospital In Karachi, Pakistan: A cross sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Presenteeism refers to a common practice of working while sick, working longer hours than required and attending calls outside of work hours. This can have a negative impact on physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of the employees, causing lack of productivity. Occupations whose everyday work includes providing treatment, care, and welfare services such as doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals tend to have a greater risk of presenteeism. Previous studies have shown an association between presenteeism and the occurrence of mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression.

Objective: The main objective of our study was to investigate the correlation between presenteeism and the prevalence of anxiety and depression amongst doctors working at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and to analyse its projected influence on the healthcare system.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted through a questionnaire, which was administered to medical doctors of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi Pakistan (n=278) in May, June, and July 2023. After this, a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) chart was administered to measure prevalence of anxiety and depression.

Results: In our study, 278 medical doctors participated, 73.0% (n=203) were female and 27.0% (n=75) were male. 85.6% (n=238) of the participants reported to have worked while they were sick in the past 12 months, and only 14.4% (n=40) reported never. Applying the HADS scale, 36.3% (n=101) were identified as abnormal cases of anxiety and 43.5% (n=121) were reported to be abnormal cases of depression.

Conclusion: Presenteeism may be commonplace in the medical field, but considering its association with anxiety and depression, it may lead to higher rates of job burnout, decreased productivity, and error. Increasing awareness about this issue could influence future policies regarding sick leave and the stigma surrounding it, whilst helping reduce the economic and productivity losses caused by presenteeism.