Affiliation:
1. Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Abstract
The professional quality of life (ProQOL) in the veterinary profession has gained increasing attention, yet little is known about its association with the mental health status of Hong Kong veterinarians. This study aimed to examine the impact of elements that make up ProQOL on the risk of suicide, depression, and anxiety among Hong Kong veterinarians. All veterinarians registered and practicing in Hong Kong at the time of recruitment were eligible to take part in the e-survey study between 1 January and 31 March 2022. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the data from 56 participants. The results showed that 22.0% of the participants were at risk of suicide, 19.6% had current suicidal ideation, 29.4% had depression, and 29.4% had anxiety symptoms. The findings suggested poor mental health status among Hong Kong veterinarians and were comparable to or more prevalent than those reported in Anglophone and European countries. Results from the binary logistic regression suggested that burnout was a predictor of depressive symptoms, and that secondary traumatic stress showed potential in predicting suicide risk. Our study, however, did not find conclusive evidence supporting compassion satisfaction as a predictor of reduced symptoms of common mental issues. Further investigation into contextual factors affecting the mental health of veterinarians in Hong Kong is warranted. Improving the profession’s mental health literacy and self-efficacy should be prioritized as a suicide prevention strategy to enhance mental health awareness.
Subject
Behavioral Neuroscience,General Psychology,Genetics,Development,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Reference44 articles.
1. A cross-sectional study of mental health and well-being and their associations in the UK veterinary profession;Bartram;Soc. Psychiatry,2009
2. A survey of veterinarian mental health and resilience in Ontario, Canada;Best;Can. Vet. J. La Rev. Vet. Can.,2020
3. Workplace stress, mental health, and burnout of veterinarians in Australia;Hatch;Aust. Vet. J.,2011
4. Prevalence of mental health outcomes among Canadian veterinarians;Perret;J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc.,2020
5. Depression, suicidal ideation and suicide risk in German veterinarians compared with the general German population;Schwerdtfeger;Vet. Rec.,2020