BACKGROUND

Stress is a pervasive occupational hazard among healthcare workers, particularly in tertiary government hospitals with heavy workloads, limited resources, and emotionally demanding care. Chronic stress contributes to burnout, reduced job performance, and poorer patient outcomes, posing significant workforce and public health concerns. Despite post-pandemic recovery initiatives, evidence remains limited on how healthcare workers experience and manage stress in routine, non-crisis settings in Philippine tertiary hospitals. This study aimed to examine the relationship between perceived stress, clinicodemographic and lifestyle factors among employees of a tertiary government hospital.

METHODS

An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 173 stratified randomly selected employees of Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital (LHMRH), Mountain Province. A validated self-administered electronic questionnaire assessed clinicodemographic characteristics, lifestyle behaviors, and the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale. Anthropometric measures, including body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio, supplemented self-reported data. Descriptive statistics summarized participant characteristics, and linear regression identified factors associated with perceived stress.

RESULTS

Most employees demonstrated suboptimal adherence to Lifestyle Medicine pillars, particularly nutrition (0.6% met recommendations), physical activity (61.8% low), and sleep quality (83.3% fair/poor). The overall perceived stress level was moderate (mean = 18.19). Linear regression revealed that bronchial asthma (p = 0.003), poor sleep quality (p < 0.001), and alcohol dependence (p = 0.023) were significantly associated with higher stress, while nutrition, physical activity, and social support were not.

CONCLUSION

Healthcare workers at LHMRH experience moderate stress primarily linked to poor sleep, alcohol dependence, and bronchial asthma. Targeted wellness programs promoting sleep hygiene, responsible alcohol use, and chronic disease management are recommended to strengthen workforce resilience and align with the Mental Health Act and Civil Service Commission directives.

Human ; Health Personnel ; Health Resources ; Burnout, Psychological

Background: Telemedicine has proven essential during COVID-19. However, concerns remain about the rural municipalities in the country such as those from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), wherein perceived barriers by Municipal Health Officers (MHOs) include poor internet connectivity and inadequacy of the current telemedicine service. Objective: This study aimed to assess the extent of Telemedicine use and perspectives in terms of perception, attitudes and perceived barriers among MHOs in CAR during COVID-19. Methods: This is an analytical cross-sectional study that used a validated online questionnaire to 62 MHOs and DTTBs in CAR. Logistic regression analysis was employed to determine the effect of sociodemographic factors and physician perceptions and attitudes on the extent of Telemedicine use. Results: Most MHOs use Telemedicine frequently in their practice for 0-1 year during COVID-19. There is no significant effect of sociodemographic factors to the extent of Telemedicine use except for IT expertise which had a negative influence on the extent of use [prevalence (p=0.011), frequency (p=0.013), length of use (p=0.044)]. Generally, MHOs agree that telemedicine is beneficial for them in performing consults with a positive effect on frequency (p=0.004) and length of use (p=0.009). There is positive attitude towards telemedicine, however, with no significant effect on extent of use (p=0.352, p=1.00, p=0.484). Compromised decision-making and network issues are the most prevalent perceived barriers that limit MHOs to practice Telemedicine. Conclusion and Recommendation This study showed that during COVID-19, there is good utilization of Telemedicine among MHOs in CAR. MHOs perceive Telemedicine as beneficial in their work and positive attitude remains. However, presence of barriers makes them apprehensive to fully incorporate it in their practice. Study results can contribute to policy-making on telemedicine as it is a key player in e- health to improve access to healthcare services in the attainment of the goal of Universal Healthcare.
COVID-19