Kuandyk, A;
Dmitriyeva, M;
Toleukhanova, N;
Conneely, M;
Suleimenov, T;
Sarssenov, D;
Mamytkhan, R;
... Toleubayev, M; + view all
(2025)
A mixed method exploration of job morale of physicians working in public healthcare settings in Kazakhstan during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition
, 44
(1)
, Article 1. 10.1186/s41043-024-00732-y.
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Abstract
Background: Physicians faced increased workloads during the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed them to considerable physical and psychological stress. Gaining insight into shapers of job morale of physicians can help healthcare administrators assess the effectiveness of current work conditions and support systems, enabling them to develop policies that improve work environments and prepare healthcare systems for future resurgences of COVID-19 and other future unknown challenges. Therefore, the present study aimed to improve the understanding of physicians’ experiences of job morale in Kazakhstan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This was an explanatory sequential mixed method study that adopted an online structured questionnaire and semi-structured individual interviews as tools for data collection. The Warr-Cook-Wall scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel, and Beck Depression Inventory were used to measure job morale indicators. The interview topic guide, in turn, covered two key areas: general views on physicians’ job morale during the COVID-19 pandemic and specific experiences which worsened or improved job morale during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics and regression models were utilised to analyse the quantitative data, while thematic analysis was employed for the qualitative data. Results: A total of 2086 survey responses and 30 interviews were analysed. Although job motivation was moderate, physicians were rather satisfied with their jobs. The prevalence of burnout was 30.97%, and signs of severe depression symptoms were detected among 3.69% of participants. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis: (1) fear of uncertainty; (2) media scrutiny; (3) resurgence in appreciation; and (4) heightened sense of duty. Conclusions: Despite the significant challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians in Kazakhstan’s public healthcare sector maintained generally positive job morale. This was mainly due to their strong sense of calling and a renewed appreciation for their role. Future research should rigorously examine longitudinal changes in job morale and the relationship between physicians’ job morale and patient experiences.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A mixed method exploration of job morale of physicians working in public healthcare settings in Kazakhstan during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Location: | Bangladesh |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s41043-024-00732-y |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-024-00732-y |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creati vecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Burnout, COVID-19 pandemic, Job morale, Job motivation, Job satisfaction, Kazakhstan, Physicians, Humans, COVID-19, Kazakhstan, Female, Male, Adult, Morale, Physicians, Burnout, Professional, Surveys and Questionnaires, SARS-CoV-2, Job Satisfaction, Middle Aged, Pandemics, Workload, Attitude of Health Personnel |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry > Epidemiology and Applied Clinical Research |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10209098 |
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