Aspects of family life of physicians in Santiago, Chile

Abstract

This is the third and last chapter of a survey of the life and circumstances of physicians in the Metropolitan Region of Chile. The first two chapters were published in the previous two issues of this journal (1, 2). This time the subject is the family life of the doctors. The proportion of physicians living in “biparental” or complete nuclear families is 65%. This percentage increases after age 35 and is lower in women. Some traits are directly associated with the fact of living in a biparental family. These traits are: 1) the number of working hours of male physicians, which reach a maximum at the age in which biparentalism is most frequent; 2) the indicators of a good level of family functioning and interpersonal communication ; 3) the level of participation in family routines and tasks. The male perception of the quality attained in traits 2) and 3) is more favourable than that of the lady doctors. Other characteristics are associated with the fact of living in a monoparental or incomplete nuclear family, or in a reintegrated biparental one. These traits are: 1) for both sexes, participation in night shifts, which is more frequent among younger doctors; 2) the intensity of work of women physicians is higher when they are young and belong in a monoparental family; 3) emotional symptoms appear more frequently among doctors of both sexes who belong to monoparental families than among members of biparental ones. The family concerns of doctors are found in the areas of health and of economic vulnerability and are independent of age and of family structure. Conclusions drawn from the three chapters of the investigation are presented: doctors should take care of their own health, in a manner adapted to their personal and family life cycle, age and gender; and they should in this respect set an example to other community members.