Abstract
Aims: To assess the current prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among primary health care (PHC) physicians in Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A cross-sectional, self-reported questionnaire survey was undertaken among all primary care physicians in Aseer Region, in the south western area of Saudi Arabia using Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS).
Results: A total of 304 PHC physicians took part in the study with a 88.4% response rate. The general prevalence rate of negative emotional states among PHC doctors was 13.2%, while the prevalence rates for depression, anxiety and stress were 7.6%, 8.6% and 7.2%, respectively. No significant differences were attributed to age, nationality, marital status or years of experience. However, female physicians experienced significantly higher anxiety and stress than male physicians (p=0.035, p=0.032, respectively). The present study showed that the higher the qualification of the PHC physician, the higher is the experienced stress (p=0.035).
Conclusions: PHC physicians in Aseer experience variable forms of negative emotional states (i.e., depression, anxiety and stress). System-level interventions to improve workplace environments and, hopefully, reduce their contribution to mental disorder are suggested.