Specifics of the Mental Component of the Quality of Life of Almaty Doctors in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: Today, in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, as a result of their professional activities, Kazakhstani medical workers experience a significant burden, which can lead to a rapid depletion of their psychoemotional resources. The purpose of this paper was to study the characteristics of the psychological component of the quality of life of Almaty doctors of practical healthcare. Methods: The assessment of the psychological component of the quality of life was carried out using the standardised questionnaire SF-36 (Mental Component Summary). Data collection was carried out in September 2020 in Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan, using the Google-Forms. The study involved 108 medical workers (65 women and 43 men) providing inpatient and outpatient care. To measure the reliability of factors that determine psychological health, the authors used the Spearman rank correlation analysis. Results: The Role-Emotional indicator correlates with the nationality of doctors (p = 0.005), and the presence of children in the family (p = 0.044). A statistically significant relationship between the Mental Health indicator and the living conditions of doctors was determined (p = 0.014). The relationship between Social Functioning and the nationality factor was revealed (p = 0.027). Vitality has a statistically significant relationship with the age of doctors (p = 0.043). Conclusion: The indicators of the psychological component of the quality of life of Almaty doctors depend (statistically) on such personal factors as: age, nationality, the presence of children in the family, and housing conditions. In the future, it is planned to conduct further assessment of the dynamics of the level of psychological health of medical workers and the factors determining it. © 2022 The Author(s).