Strategies Australian junior doctors use to maintain their mental, physical and social well-being: a qualitative
Melanie Hobi1, Sonya Yegorova-Lee2, Christopher Chun-Lin Chan2
1School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University Faculty of Health, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia melanie.hobi@griffithuni.edu.au.
Objectives:
This study aimed to uncover the strategies that junior doctors implement to maintain their mental, physical and social well-being, and the barriers they experience in practising these strategies.
Participants:
Fifteen junior doctors in their postgraduate year 1 or 2 currently practising in Australia were recruited.
Outcome Measures:
Semistructured interviews were conducted, and the transcripts underwent thematic analysis.
Results:
Three key themes emerged from thematic analysis, namely: well-being strategies, barriers to well-being and and future interventions. Exercise, a healthy and balanced diet, quality sleep, and workplace organisations were frequently reported well-being strategies. High workload, unpredictable routines, lack of familiarity with the healthcare system and ongoing stigma surrounding mental health were seen as barriers to well-being. Suggested interventions included increased control over rosters, subsidised access to facilities such as gyms and increased internship preparedness programmes organised by the medical schools.
Conclusions:
The findings from this study may assist in developing more personalised and targeted methods to help junior doctors maintain their mental, physical and social well-being. Future studies may address the structural and systemic changes required to develop a workforce that fosters the well-being of junior doctors and reduces the institutional barriers to practising well-being strategies.
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