Doctorate in Clinical Psychology: Main Research Portfolio

: (Alternative Format Thesis) 1) Occupational Syndromes in UK Emergency Medicine Doctors: A Scoping Review; 2) Post Event Team Reflections: An Evaluation of Team Training within the UHBW (University Hospitals Bristol and Weston) NHS Foundation Trust Staff Support Team; 3) Intolerance of Uncertainty and Coping Styles: Investigating Predictors and Mediators of Burnout in Doctors Working in Emergency Medicine

Abstract

Introduction: Doctors working in emergency medicine (EM) doctors must make rapid medical decisions in a high pressure environment. Clinical uncertainty is inherent to the role of an EM doctor and an intolerance to this uncertainty may influence the experience of burnout and depression. This study investigated the influence of Intolerance of Uncertainty(IU) and coping strategies on burnout and depression in EM doctors. Methods: A cross sectional online survey design was used to recruit 214 NHS EM doctors between 27.06.2024and 28.02.2025. Prevalence of common mental health difficulties (anxiety and depression)alongside burnout, and associations between IU, depression and burnout, were assessed. Mediation modelling analyses examined whether IU directly predicted burnout (model 1) and depression (model 2) and whether adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies mediated these relationships, when controlling for age, gender and grade. Results: Levels of common mental health difficulties were significantly higher in the sample compared to normative data. Significant positive relationships were found between IU, burnout and depression. EM doctors with higher IU were more likely to use maladaptive coping strategies (p < .001),which were also positively related to higher levels of burnout (p < .001) and depression (p <.001). There was no direct effect of IU on burnout, indicating that maladaptive coping strategies fully mediated this relationship. There was a significant direct effect of IU on depression, indicating that maladaptive coping strategies partially mediated this relationship. Adaptive coping did not mediate these relationships. Discussion: In EM doctors, IU appears to be linked indirectly via maladaptive coping to burnout and both directly and indirectly via maladaptive coping to depression. Both IU and coping styles are modifiable constructs that can be targeted with evidence-based models including CBT. Interventions should be adapted to consider the unique nature of the emergency department that EM doctors are working within.

Date of Award	10 Sept 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Jo Daniels (Supervisor) & Sadie Thomas-Unsworth (Supervisor)