Parental Leave Perceptions Among Emergency Medicine Residents and Faculty in India: A Multicenter Observational Study

Many residents become parents during residency, and the adequacy of parental leave is closely related to resident well-being. To the best of our knowledge, limited research has evaluated Emergency Medicine (EM) residents and faculty members' perceptions regarding parental leave during residency training in India. This study was conducted to analyze perceptions of Master of Emergency Medicine (MEM) residents regarding parental leave, assess faculty perceptions of parental leave and its impact on residency training, and evaluate respondents' knowledge of existing maternity and paternity leave policies.

A multicenter prospective observational study was conducted from September 2022 to January 2023 among EM residents and faculty members working in tertiary care hospitals in India. Survey questionnaires were distributed electronically to 350 participants through Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States), with integrated written informed consent included in the survey link. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and represented in N (%) format.

A total of 157 (44.9%) responses were obtained. Among the respondents, 67 (42.7%) were women. Participants were distributed across India, with 88 (56.1%) from southern India, 45 (28.7%) from northern India, and 23 (14.6%) from northeast India. A majority of respondents (90, 57.7%) were unaware of their institutional parental leave policies. Additionally, many respondents were unsure whether their institutions had written maternity leave policies (102, 65.0%) or paternity leave policies (100, 63.7%). Among residents, 38 (28.6%) reported having children younger than 18 years, and 8 (6.0%) were expecting children during residency training. Perceived support for residents taking parental leave was low, with 12 (46.1%) residents reporting only slight or no support from co-residents and 12 (46.1%) residents reporting only slight or no support from faculty members. Most respondents believed that the ideal time for female residents to have children was after residency (124, 79.5%). Among faculty respondents, 17 (70.8%) stated that other residents typically cover duties for residents on leave, and 10 (41.7%) believed that residents taking parental leave should extend their training period.

Factors that prevent a resident from having children during residency are associated with a lack of leave policies and a lack of support from co-residents and faculty members. Our data suggest that normalizing parental leave and improving policies are essential interventions to support residents with children.