TY - JOUR
T1 - Meaning and Status of Health-related Quality of Life Recognized by Medical Professionals
T2 - a Qualitative Study
AU - Pyo, Jeehee
AU - Ock, Minsu
AU - Park, Bohyun
AU - Kim, Nam eun
AU - Choi, Eun Jeong
AU - Park, Hyesook
AU - Ahn, Hyeong Sik
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant of the National Academy of Medicine of Korea (2019).
Funding Information:
The authors thank those individuals who participated in the FGDs.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/1/13
Y1 - 2020/1/13
N2 - Background: Medical professionals must maintain their health to provide quality medical care to patients safely. However, the health-related quality of life of medical professionals is a complex issue that currently lacks a standardized evaluation approach. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify their perceptions of the health-related quality of life of medical professionals and explore ways to measure their quality of life as accurately. Methods: This study explored the subjective health status and well-being of Korean medical professionals by conducting three focus group discussions (FGDs) with 12 physicians and 6 nurses (November to December 2019). In the FGD, we elicited participants' opinions on existing health-related quality of life measurement tools. Also, we analyzed transcribed data through content analysis. Results: Participants in this study noted the ambiguity in the current definitions of health provided by the World Health Organization. They shared various problems of their health, mainly concerning fatigue and sleep disorders due to their work pattern. Also, participants shared anxiety, burden, and fear of negative consequences due to the complexity of their work. Participants voiced the necessity of a questionnaire on health-related quality of life that reflects the working lives of medical professionals.Conclusion: Medical professionals in Korea were mainly criticizing about health-related quality of life problems caused by their work characteristics. The results of this study will provide valuable information for future health-related quality of life surveys targeting medical professionals in Korea, and also help to determine the method for monitoring the healthrelated quality of life for health professionals. In addition, the aspects and items identified by medical professionals as important for their health-related quality of life may be used as a basis for developing a new health-related quality of life measurement tools for medical professionals.
AB - Background: Medical professionals must maintain their health to provide quality medical care to patients safely. However, the health-related quality of life of medical professionals is a complex issue that currently lacks a standardized evaluation approach. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify their perceptions of the health-related quality of life of medical professionals and explore ways to measure their quality of life as accurately. Methods: This study explored the subjective health status and well-being of Korean medical professionals by conducting three focus group discussions (FGDs) with 12 physicians and 6 nurses (November to December 2019). In the FGD, we elicited participants' opinions on existing health-related quality of life measurement tools. Also, we analyzed transcribed data through content analysis. Results: Participants in this study noted the ambiguity in the current definitions of health provided by the World Health Organization. They shared various problems of their health, mainly concerning fatigue and sleep disorders due to their work pattern. Also, participants shared anxiety, burden, and fear of negative consequences due to the complexity of their work. Participants voiced the necessity of a questionnaire on health-related quality of life that reflects the working lives of medical professionals.Conclusion: Medical professionals in Korea were mainly criticizing about health-related quality of life problems caused by their work characteristics. The results of this study will provide valuable information for future health-related quality of life surveys targeting medical professionals in Korea, and also help to determine the method for monitoring the healthrelated quality of life for health professionals. In addition, the aspects and items identified by medical professionals as important for their health-related quality of life may be used as a basis for developing a new health-related quality of life measurement tools for medical professionals.
KW - Health-related Quality of Life
KW - Medical Professional
KW - Qualitative Research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85100128248&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e20
DO - 10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e20
M3 - Article
C2 - 33463094
AN - SCOPUS:85100128248
SN - 1011-8934
VL - 36
JO - Journal of Korean medical science
JF - Journal of Korean medical science
IS - 2
M1 - e20
ER -