The Impact of Covid Pandemic on Trauma and Orthopedic Surgeons in Morocco

COVID-19 pandemic was a global health crisis without precedent, it had caused a severe human suffering. In this study we evaluated the impact of this pandemic on the quality of life of the trauma and orthopedic surgeons in Morocco. An anonym online questionnaire was sent, by e-mail, to the 645 surgeons’ members of the Moroccan society for orthopedic and trauma surgery. The questionnaire comprised 34 structured questions that inquired sociodemographic information and indicators of the quality of life of surgeons including: bad feeling, depression, anxiety, insomnia, bad diet, sedentary lifestyle, happy lessness and financial problems. SPSS 23 software was used to descriptive analysis of the data, and assessment of factors associated with bad quality of life of surgeons. The questionnaire was completed by 220 surgeons, for a mean response rate of 34%. The mean age of the respondents was 44±12 year, 45.4% were public, 12.3% military and 42.3% liberal. 78.2% of surgeons worked in the zone with high risk of epidemic. Sedentary lifestyle, anxiety, financial problems, bad diet, and insomnia were the main problems encountered respectively by 70.9%, 40.5%, 35%, 25% and 21.4% of surgeons. The juniors’ doctors were more exposed to the problems of sedentary lifestyle, bad diet and insomnia, than the seniors (p<0.05). The liberal doctors were more concerned by the financial problems (55.9%), than the public (21%) and military (14.8%) (p<0.001). Finaly, the trauma and orthopedic surgeons in Morocco didn’t escape to the bad effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the hole humanity. Several measures are needed to decrease the impact of future pandemic.