@article{uneatlantico17874,
          number = {8},
           pages = {1177},
           month = {Abril},
         journal = {Healthcare},
          volume = {11},
            year = {2023},
          author = {Estefan Matiz-Moya and Roberto C. Delgado Bolton and Esperanza Garc{\'i}a-G{\'o}mez and Luis Vivanco},
           title = {Empathy and Occupational Health and Well-Being in Ecuadorian Physicians Working with COVID-19 Patients: A Mixed-Method Study},
             url = {http://repositorio.uneatlantico.es/id/eprint/17874/},
        abstract = {Approximately one out of ten COVID-19 cases in Ecuador was a physician. It has been reported that this situation has led to a serious detriment of physicians? health and well-being. This study aimed to (i) identify predictors of emotional exhaustion, somatization, and work alienation in Ecuadorian physicians working with COVID-19 patients and (ii) explore the pandemic impact on doctor?patient relationships and on empathy. In 79 Ecuadorian physicians (45 women) who worked with COVID-19 patients, two separate multiple regression models explained the following: 73\% of the variability of emotional exhaustion was based on somatization, work alienation, working sector, and passing through a symptomatic infection (p {\ensuremath{<}} 0.001), and 56\% of the variability of somatization was based on gender and emotional exhaustion (p {\ensuremath{<}} 0.001), respectively. Furthermore, intention to leave the profession was more frequent among physicians with greater work alienation (p = 0.003). On the contrary, more empathic physicians never considered leaving their profession during the COVID-19 pandemic (p = 0.03). In physicians? verbatim, cognitive empathy appeared associated to a positive change in doctor?patient relationships. On the contrary, having an overwhelming emotional empathy appeared associated to a negative change in doctor?patient relationships. These findings characterize differences in how physicians cope while working in the frontline of the pandemic.},
        keywords = {somatization; emotional exhaustion; work alienation; empathy; COVID-19; doctor-patient relationship}
}