Rapid assessment of the mental well-being of general practitioners in Serbia during crises

BACKGROUND: General practitioners - GPs are at risk of greater exposure to multiple stressors during emergencies. To help primary care crisis preparedness planning, we rapidly assessed GPs’ mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic using a cross-sectional design, and after examining the 9-item Mayo Clinic Well-being Index (MWBI) correlation with the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 Items (DASS21). METHODS: During the PRICOV-19 international study, January - June 2021, we distributed the MWBI questionnaire (forward-backwards translated) and a standardized Serbian version of DASS21 to all GPs licensed at the Serbian Medical Chamber for self-administration. Pearson's r tested the correlation of the MWBI with the DASS21 scores. Multivariate linear regression analysis identified factors of the GPs’ poorer mental well-being (if higher than the cutoff of 2). RESULTS: 116 GPs, aged 24 - 68 years (median age = 42), participated in the study, of which 78.4% were females. A total of 101 respondents completed both questionnaires. The mean of the MWBI scores was 3,3 (SD 2.6) and ranged from -2 to 9, with a median of 3. Using a cutoff of MWBI ≥2, 71.3% of participants were considered at risk of distress. MWBI score correlated strongly, positively and significantly with the DASS21 total score (r = 0.791; p < 0,001), as well as with the DASS21 subscales (i.e. depression (r = 0.730; p < 0,001), anxiety (r = 0.660; p < 0,001), and stress (r = 0.759; p < 0,001)). A lower level of material status of respondents (B = - 0,882; p < 0,001) and lack of time to uptake clinical guidelines (B = - 0,600; p = 0,001) were independently and significantly related to higher MWBI scores. CONCLUSIONS: The MWBI correlates with the DASS21 scores to an acceptable level. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, two-thirds of Serbian GPs were at risk of distress, including those with lower material status and lack of time to uptake guidelines. KEY MESSAGES: • Assessing GP’s mental well-being should be included in emergency plans for primary care preparedness. • Use of MWBI in crises helps validate and rapidly assess GPs’ mental well-being.