Caring for the Caregivers: A Narrative Review of Physician Health Protection Across High-Income Countries and Lessons for Low- and Middle-Income Countries.
10 affiliations
- 1Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Punjab Institute of Neurosciences, Lahore, PAK.
- 2Medical School, Frontier Medical and Dental College, Abbottabad, PAK.
- 3Neurological Surgery, Punjab Institute of Neurosciences, Lahore, PAK.
- 4Medical School, Shalamar Medical and Dental College, Lahore, PAK.
- 5Internal Medicine, Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, PAK.
- 6Medical School, Mayo Hospital, Lahore, PAK.
- 7Neurological Surgery, National Hospital and Medical Center, Lahore, PAK.
- 8Family Medicine, Indus Hospital and Health Network, Lahore, PAK.
- 9General Surgery and Surgical Oncology, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore, PAK.
- 10General Surgery, Lahore General Hospital, Lahore, PAK.
Abstract
Healthcare physicians (HCPs) across the world experience substantial mental, physical, and occupational health challenges, yet they remain an often-neglected group within healthcare systems. High levels of burnout, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, professional dissatisfaction, and even suicide have been reported in diverse settings, directly affecting patient safety and overall health system performance. This narrative review aimed to synthesize existing evidence on physician mental, physical, and professional health, with particular attention to similarities and differences between high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Peer-reviewed scientific articles, policy documents, and credible international reports examining physician well-being and workforce protection were analyzed. Recurrent themes across regions include burnout, depression, suicide risk, unsafe working conditions, professional dissatisfaction, migration, and collective actions such as strikes. In line with the objective of this review, the evidence also highlights important differences in how these challenges manifest and are addressed in HICs compared with LMICs. Although many of these problems are present globally, their severity is often greater in LMICs because of weaker occupational protections, limited access to mental health services, financial insecurity, and structural constraints within under-resourced health systems. The review therefore emphasizes that physician health should be viewed as a system-level and ethical responsibility rather than an individual failing. It further proposes practical and policy-oriented strategies that LMICs can adopt, such as confidential support pathways, regulatory reforms, and leadership accountability, to strengthen physician well-being without requiring major infrastructure expansion.
Related
- Health taxes and universal health coverage in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review of pathways, challenges and policy lessons.
- Disability burden, treatment gaps and correlates of self-reported physician-diagnosed migraine: a multinational survey in four Arab countries.
- Exploring the Social and Financial Impacts of Cervical Cancer on Caregivers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review.
- Involvement of users and caregivers in mental healthcare decision-making within low-and middle-income countries: A scoping review
- From "Customary Morality" to "Reflective Morality": a physician's personalized competence development facilitated by narrative medicine.
BibTeX
@article{razaq2026caring,
title = {{Caring for the Caregivers: A Narrative Review of Physician Health Protection Across High-Income Countries and Lessons for Low- and Middle-Income Countries.}},
author = {Hafza Bushra Razaq and Osama Saeed and Maksalmina Reshtin and Muhammad Usman Arshad and Waleed Usman and Nabiha Kashif and Muhammad Fawad Ul Hassan and Amna Sohail and Arham Amir Khawaja and Sundas Irshad and Haseeb Mehmood Qadri},
journal = {Cureus},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.7759/cureus.116850},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42927121},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Caring for the Caregivers: A Narrative Review of Physician Health Protection Across High-Income Countries and Lessons for Low- and Middle-Income Countries.
AU - Hafza Bushra Razaq
AU - Osama Saeed
AU - Maksalmina Reshtin
AU - Muhammad Usman Arshad
AU - Waleed Usman
AU - Nabiha Kashif
AU - Muhammad Fawad Ul Hassan
AU - Amna Sohail
AU - Arham Amir Khawaja
AU - Sundas Irshad
AU - Haseeb Mehmood Qadri
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
JO - Cureus
DO - 10.7759/cureus.116850
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42927121
AB - Healthcare physicians (HCPs) across the world experience substantial mental, physical, and occupational health challenges, yet they remain an often-neglected group within healthcare systems. High levels of burnout, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, professional dissatisfaction, and even suicide have been reported in diverse settings, directly affecting patient safety and overall health system performance. This narrative review aimed to synthesize existing evidence on physician mental, physical, and professional health, with particular attention to similarities and differences between high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Peer-reviewed scientific articles, policy documents, and credible international reports examining physician well-being and workforce protection were analyzed. Recurrent themes across regions include burnout, depression, suicide risk, unsafe working conditions, professional dissatisfaction, migration, and collective actions such as strikes. In line with the objective of this review, the evidence also highlights important differences in how these challenges manifest and are addressed in HICs compared with LMICs. Although many of these problems are present globally, their severity is often greater in LMICs because of weaker occupational protections, limited access to mental health services, financial insecurity, and structural constraints within under-resourced health systems. The review therefore emphasizes that physician health should be viewed as a system-level and ethical responsibility rather than an individual failing. It further proposes practical and policy-oriented strategies that LMICs can adopt, such as confidential support pathways, regulatory reforms, and leadership accountability, to strengthen physician well-being without requiring major infrastructure expansion.
SN - 2168-8184
ER -