A Stress Survey in Anesthesia Personnel in Thailand
Phongthara Vichitvejpaisal MD, PhD*, Suwat Mahatnirunkul MD**
Affiliation : * Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand ** Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Objective : To find out stressful events related to anesthesia and psychological responses in anesthesia personnel.
Material and Method: Three hundred fifty three nurses and 286 doctors from all over the country who currently working
in operating theatres participated in this study. Research tools comprised of interactive online anesthesia-related and
psychological stress tests. Data were analyzed as mean and standard deviations. Comparisons of all associated factors
between groups were performed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov Two-Sample test and t-test independent. Correlations between
groups were determined by Spearman’s rho and Pearson’s. Statistical significance was defined as p-value less than 0.05
with a 95% confidence interval.
Results : Nurses expressed greater worries with impairment of cognitive and immune functions, particularly on night shifts.
They had intense responsibility, compounded by lack of experiences and knowledge. Doctors were under stress during the
day. This depended on their ages, experiences, morbidity rumors, working hours, and day off after operation, which
manifested themselves as disturbances of the autonomic nervous system and emotions.
Conclusion : Nurse anesthetists expressed their worries, particularly on night shifts. Their psychological distresses were
observed as impairment of cognitive and immune functions. Doctors were under professional stress during the day, which
came across as disturbances of the autonomic nervous systems and emotions.
Keywords : Occupation-related stress, Peri-operative anesthesia
