Mental health difficulties, limited treatment utilization, and the impact of stress among a nationwide sample of attending emergency physicians

Objective Despite evidence that emergency physicians (EP) have high rates of mental health difficulties and stress, research is limited. This study evaluated the frequency of mental health symptoms, stress, and treatment utilization and characteristics that distinguish higher rates. Then, the impact of stress on past year mental health difficulties was investigated. Methods U.S. emergency departments with residency programs or within large hospitals / healthcare systems ( n = 514) were invited to participate, with 252 attending EPs across 31 states participating (79% white; 56.3% Male; M age = 44.01, SD =9.75). Mental health and treatment were compared by gender, years of experience, and workload. Then, elastic net and logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association of eleven stress types with past year mental health difficulties. Results Moderate-to-high past month stress was reported by 84.9% and current burnout reported by 53.6%, with 44.5% reporting past year mental health difficulties and 13.1% reporting past year suicidal ideation. Females were more likely than males to report several concerns (e.g., depression, anxiety, burnout, stress). Across the entire sample, occupational burnout and COVID-19-related stress were associated with greater odds of past year mental health difficulties in both statistical models. Model-specific effects also emerged: past-month perceived stress frequency was associated with higher risk only in the elastic net model, whereas past-year bereavement-related stress was associated with lower risk in the logistic regression model. Conclusion EPs are experiencing mental health concerns at alarming rates. This underscores the need for interventions that reduce stress and address treatment barriers.