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Anxiety and resilience in palliative medicine physicians
  1. Cristhian Alexis Velásquez Marín1 and
  2. Carlos Javier Avendaño-Vásquez2
  1. 1Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogota, Colombia
  2. 2Nursing School, Antonio Nariño University, Bogota, Colombia
  1. Correspondence to Professor Carlos Javier Avendaño-Vásquez, Nursing School, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogota, Colombia; javierunvasquez76{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Objective To identify the relationship between the degree of anxiety and the capacity for resilience in palliative care physicians.

Methods Cross-sectional analytical study with non-probability sampling. We included 42 Colombian Palliative Care Physicians and administered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Zung Anxiety Scale and the Resilience Scale.

Results 42 palliative care physicians with an average age of 41 participated in the study. Anxious symptoms were present in 100% of the physicians evaluated. Mild or moderate anxiety was identified in 93.7% of the population and 6.3% of people with severe anxiety symptoms. Less than half of the participants considered demonstrated high levels of resilience. We found an inverse and significant correlation between the factors that make up the Resilience Scale and the manifestation of psychological and physical symptoms of anxiety.

Conclusion Our results reflect that the population of palliative care physicians has a higher risk and exposure to developing anxiety and its adverse outcomes. We found higher anxiety levels compared with other studies so this population requires greater vigilance and intervention in treating and preventing mental health difficulties.

  • Psychological care
  • Terminal care
  • End of life care

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Footnotes

  • Contributors CAVM was involved in the manuscript’s conception, design, data acquisition and drafting. CJAV was involved in data analysis plan, data interpretation and critically revising the manuscript.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

  • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.