Alcohol use and psychological wellbeing of health workers in a Nigerian Hospital: An exploratory study

BACKGROUND: The degree of alcohol use influences one's mental health and psychological wellbeing. Psychological well-being of health workers, however, is crucial to the quality of care their patients receive. AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of alcohol use and factors associated with psychological well-being of health care workers at a University Teaching Hospital. METHODS: This was a cross sectional survey of health workers in the medical and surgical specialties at the State University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. Socio-demographic questionnaire, the 10-items Alcohol Use Identification Test (AUDIT) and the 12-items General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) were used to assess socio-demographic, alcohol use and psychological well-being of the participants. Statistical analyses were done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16. Appropriate statistical tools were used to determine relationships between various variables. RESULTS: A total of 256 participants were interviewed. Fifteen (5.9%) of the respondents were either hazardous or harmful drinkers. Psychological distress was reported among 17.2% of the respondents and this was significantly associated with marital status, years of practice, specialty of practice, presence of ongoing chronic illness, current stressors and level of alcohol use. CONCLUSION: A high proportion of the participants in the study were abstainers and a significant number were experiencing psychological distress. Psychological distress was however found to be significantly associated with harmful alcohol use, some socio-demographic variables, and work related factors. Efforts should be geared towards identifying these factors so as to ensure effectiveness and well-being of health workers.