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. 2021 Nov 24;38(6):780-785.
doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmab028.

Has COVID-19 changed the workload for primary care physicians? The case of Spain

Carmen Fernández-Aguilar  1 , Luis-Alberto Casado-Aranda  2 , Miquel Farrés Fernández  3 , Sergio Minué Lorenzo  4
Affiliations

Has COVID-19 changed the workload for primary care physicians? The case of Spain

Carmen Fernández-Aguilar et al. Fam Pract. .

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a massive over-exertion of doctors, multiplying their work intensity, overload and stress. Yet no studies have been conducted on the changes in primary care physician overload during the pandemic.

Objective: To address this research gap, the aim of this article is to document the subjective dimensions of physicians' work during the peak of the pandemic for comparison with a pre-COVID-19 situation. In addition, the relationship between workload and the individual characteristics of the physician or the percentage of tele-assistance is examined.

Methods: This study performs a subjective measurement procedure for the analysis of work overload through the NASA-TLX questionnaire, with a total of 102 records from 16 doctors from a Primary Health Centers of the Granada-Metropolitan Health district (Andalusia, Spain).

Results: The results reflect a significantly higher workload during COVID-19 in relation to a previous situation (66.1% versus 48.6% before COVID-19). All the dimensions of the NASA-TLX test suffered an increase during the COVID-19, this increase being higher in the physical, temporal and frustration levels. Interestingly, the findings reflect the higher the percentage of telematic consultations, the lower workload.

Conclusions: Work overload and the emotional state of health workers is one of the many repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results derived from this study may be useful in formulating policies and practices related to the workforce development, funding streams to prepare for the next wave of COVID-19 infections as well as for future public health emergencies.

Keywords: COVID-19; Nasa-TLX; health care; pandemic management; primary care physicians; workload.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Results of the paired sample t-test comparison. y axis: NASA-TLX general scores (at); x axis: dimensions of the NASA-TLX scale. The experienced workload of health providers during COVID-19 is significantly higher within all the NASA-TLX dimensions (P < 0.001). Error bars indicate standard deviation.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Plot showing the correlation between workload as indexed by the general NASA-TLX scores and the levels of telematic health delivery during COVID-19.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Proposals or intervention measures to reduce or improve the physician’s work overload.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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