Edirisooriya, Monisha;
Silkens, Milou;
Medisauskaite, Asta;
(2025)
Exploring financial difficulty and help-seeking behaviour among medics in the United Kingdom: a cross-sectional survey.
Human Resources for Health
, 23
(1)
, Article 49. 10.1186/s12960-025-01008-0.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: While an intensifying workforce crisis and industrial action across the United Kingdom (UK) healthcare system has shed light on financial strains medics in the UK may face, there remains a lack of evidence on how various groups among an increasingly diversifying profession may be affected. This study explored experiences of financial difficulties and help-seeking behaviours across different demographic groups of medics. METHODS: The demographic characteristics, financial worries and difficulties, and help-seeking behaviours of 442 medical students and doctors in the UK were surveyed. Inferential statistics and regression analyses were undertaken in SPSS. Qualitative responses regarding improving help-seeking underwent content analysis. RESULTS: Over 80% of participants reported ever worrying about their finances. One-third had ever experienced financial difficulty. Of these, there were a higher percentage of medics with a disability (53.4%) than without a disability (30.4%); and with caring roles (47.2%) compared to those without (30.4%). LGBTQ + participants were 3.5 times more likely to have ever worried about their financial situation compared to those identifying as heterosexual. Those with a non-UK Primary Medical Qualification (PMQ) were twice as likely to experience financial difficulty compared to UK-PMQ respondents. Education and workplace sources of financial help were more likely to be sought by those without a disability, those with a UK-PMQ, participants in the ≤ 25 age bracket and students in comparison to doctors. Participants with a non-UK PMQ, participants aged 36-45 years, and doctors were more likely to seek external support. The most common responses to improving early help-seeking stemmed around improving understanding of the available support, and reducing stigma. CONCLUSIONS: Experiences of financial insecurity among medics are extremely common. Our study has highlighted that LGBTQ + medics and those with a non-UK PMQ may be particularly vulnerable to financial problems as well as those with a disability or caring role. Education and workplace mechanisms of financial support may be underutilised by medics with disabilities, those with a non-UK PMQ, and those in postgraduate settings more broadly. Institutions should seek to improve awareness and accessibility of financial support.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Exploring financial difficulty and help-seeking behaviour among medics in the United Kingdom: a cross-sectional survey |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12960-025-01008-0 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-025-01008-0 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, 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 changes were made. 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://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Demographic characteristics, Doctors, Financial difficulty, Help-seeking behaviour, Medical students, Humans, United Kingdom, Male, Female, Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Help-Seeking Behavior, Physicians, Middle Aged, Students, Medical, Surveys and Questionnaires, Young Adult, Persons with Disabilities |
| 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 Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > UCL Medical School |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10213231 |
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