Mental Health, Pain Perception and Quality of Work Life Among Healthcare Professionals: A Latent Profile Analysis

Objective: The objective was to estimate the perception of pain and its intensity among emergency department (ED) and intensive care units (ICU) professionals and to identify the relationship between pain and quality of work life (QWL). Design: A total of 145 ED and ICU professionals (senior physicians, interns, nurses, and nursing assistants) completed an online questionnaire assessing pain perception, through self-reported data, QWL (WRQoL), mental health (DASS-21) and burnout (MBI-HSS). Main results: 71.7% (n=104) experiencing work-related pain and 69.7% (n=76) consuming painkillers to alleviated it. Latent profile analyses identified 3 profiles of QWL: very poor (n=8), poor (n=50), acceptable (n=77). Compared to the acceptable QWL profile, very poor and poor profiles were associated with more frequently reported work-related pain (p=.012), painkiller consumption related to these pains (p=.031) and had higher scores of mental health disorders. Conclusion: Our study reinforces the importance of directly addressing the improvement of their QWL to best prevent the development or exacerbation of mental health issues and pain.