Professional burnout and the quality of life of surgeons during the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19, depending on the profile of the medical institution

Introduction. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical workers turned out to be the most vulnerable category of the population in terms of the risk of developing psycho-emotional disorders. Objective. To establish the features of professional burnout and quality of life among surgeons of specialized COVID hospitals, multidisciplinary hospitals, and polyclinics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods. The following groups of doctors were examined: group 1 consisted of surgeons working in a specialized COVID hospital (n=61); group 2 included surgeons working in a multidisciplinary hospital (n=58); group 3 consisted of polyclinic surgeons (n=55); group 4 was the control group com prising workers of engineering, technical, and economic specialties not related to medical organizations (n=190). The assessment of professional burnout was carried out by means of the Maslach Burnout Inventory and V.V. Boyko’s questionnaire; the quality of life was determined using the SF-36 questionnaire. Results. It has been established that the work of surgeons during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with the impact of a number of specific risk factors related to the care of infected patients, as well as with significant changes in work regarding aspects connected with organization and safety, which contributed to an increase in the levels of occupational stress and professional burnout, and a decrease in quality life. Limitations of the study. The study has regional (Samara Region) and professional (in terms of detailing the working conditions in the studied comparison groups) limitations. Conclusions. The work of surgeons during the pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19, when compared with surgeons of multidisciplinary hospitals and polyclinics, is associated with an increase in the levels of occupational stress and professional burnout. It is necessary to continue research on the emotional state of medical personnel in order to timely carry out preventive treatment to preserve the health of medical workers.