Dataset Information

Female physicians: trends and likely impacts on healthcare in Israel.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Female physicians have become an increasing proportion of the medical workforce in Israel. This study investigates this trend and discusses its likely impact on the quantity and quality of medical care available.

Method

Data on licensed physicians and new licenses issued to physicians were taken from a Ministry of Health database, and analyzed by gender, age, academic origin (Israeli graduates, immigrants, Israeli-born who studied abroad), and specialty for the years 1999-2011.Data on employed physicians, their population group, and work hours were taken from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) annual Labour Force Survey for the years 2009-2011.

Results

The proportion of women amongst physicians aged under 65 rose from 38% in 1999 to 42% in 2011, and was even higher for younger physicians. The highest proportion of females is found amongst new immigrant physicians who studied abroad. The corresponding proportion has been rising steadily amongst Israeli-educated physicians, and is lowest amongst Israeli-born physicians who studied abroad.Similarly, among newly licensed physicians, the proportion of females has traditionally been highest among immigrants who studied abroad and lowest among Israeli-born graduates who studied abroad. Among newly-licensed physicians who studied in Israel, the proportion of females has historically been intermediate between the other two groups, but it has recently risen to 54% and now parallels the proportion of females among immigrants who studied abroad. In recent years, the mix of academic origins among newly licensed physicians has changed dramatically, with important implications for the proportion of women among newly licensed physicians.The highest percentage of females was found in family medicine followed by oncology, pediatrics and psychiatry. The greatest increase over the years in this percentage was for gynecology and internal medicine.Female physicians worked shorter hours than males, particularly at younger ages. The proportion of females among employed Arab physicians is much lower than among Jewish physicians.

Conclusions

The proportion of female physicians has been steadily rising, although in recent years the increase has leveled off. This has been due, in part, to the decline in the flow of immigrant physicians and the increase in the number of Israelis studying abroad. Future developments in medical education options and immigration will determine whether their proportion will continue rising. Planning for future medical personnel must take these results into consideration.

SUBMITTER: Haklai Z

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3851286 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Female physicians: trends and likely impacts on healthcare in Israel.

Haklai Ziona Z Applbaum Yael Y Tal Orna O Aburbeh Myriam M Goldberger Nehama F NF

Israel journal of health policy research 20130917 1

<h4>Background</h4>Female physicians have become an increasing proportion of the medical workforce in Israel. This study investigates this trend and discusses its likely impact on the quantity and quality of medical care available.<h4>Method</h4>Data on licensed physicians and new licenses issued to physicians were taken from a Ministry of Health database, and analyzed by gender, age, academic origin (Israeli graduates, immigrants, Israeli-born who studied abroad), and specialty for the years 19 ...[more]

PMID: 24044740

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Project description:BackgroundTechnology has significantly changed the way health organizations operate. However, the role it plays in healthcare systems remains unclear. This aim of this study was to evaluate the opinion of physicians regarding e-health and determine what factors influence their opinion and describe the advantages, inconveniences and threats they may perceive by its use.MethodsA cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. A questionnaire which had been previously designed and validated by the authors was used to interview physicians from the Barcelona Medical Association. 930 physicians were contacted by phone to participate in the study.ResultsSeven hundred sixty physicians responded to the questionnaire (response rate: 82%). The usefulness of telemedicine scored 7.4 (SD 1.8) on a scale from 1-10 (from the lowest to the highest) and the importance of the Internet in the workplace was 8.2 points (SD 1.8). Therapeutic compliance (7.0 -SD 1.8-) and patient health (7.0 -SD 1.7-) showed the best scores, and there were differences between professionals who had and had not previously participated in a telemedicine project (p < 0.05). The multivariate regression model explained the 41% of the variance for 7 factors: participation in telemedicine project (p < 0.001), quality of clinical practice (p < 0.001), patient health (p < 0.001), professional workload (p = 0.005), ease-of-use of electronic device (p = 0.007), presence of incentives for telemedicine (p = 0.011) and patient preference for in-person visits (p = 0.05).ConclusionsPhysicians believe in the usefulness of e-health. Professionals with previous experience with it are more open to its implementation and consider that the benefits of technology outweigh its possible difficulties and shortcomings. Physicians demanded projects with appropriate funding and technology, as well as specific training to improve their technological abilities. The relationship of users with technology differs according to their personal or professional life. Although a 2.0 philosophy has been incorporated into many aspects of our lives, healthcare systems still have a long way to go in order to adapt to this new understanding of the relationship between patients and their health.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:Physicians' demanding work conditions may reduce the time and energy required for maintaining healthy lifestyles. This study examined health-related behaviours, perceived health status and emotional stress among physicians, and analysed the effects of personal and work characteristics on these endpoints. DESIGN:A cross-sectional study using a digital questionnaire. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS:All 25 590 physicians who were members of the Israeli Medical Association in 2015 were invited to participate by email. Of 14 694 who opened the e-mail, 4832 (32.9%) responded. OUTCOME MEASURES:Survey topics included physical activity (PA), nutrition and eating habits, smoking, sleep, perceived health status and emotional stress, body mass index (BMI) and contact with a regular physician, as well as personal and work characteristics. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS:Of the 4832 respondents, 21% reported poor or fair health status, 36% felt considerable emotional stress, 57% were overweight or obese (according to BMI≥25 kg/m2), 71% did not meet the recommended PA level, 79% did not meet a composite measure of healthy nutrition, 8% were current smokers, 25% slept 5 hours or less and 57% did not have a regular physician. Residents and hospital physicians reported significantly less healthy lifestyles, lower perceived health status and higher stress levels, compared with senior and community physicians. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that being female (OR=0.74, 95% CI=0.64 to 0.85), younger (0.69, 0.64 to 0.74), having poor nutrition (0.66, 0.55 to 0.78), not meeting PA targets (0.68, 0.57 to 0.82), inadequate sleep (0.54, 0.40 to 0.56) and perceived poor health status (0.48, 0.40 to 0.56) were significantly associated with high stress levels (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS:The unfavourable health behaviours reported among Israeli physicians may have negative effects on their health and well-being. An intervention program to help physicians to adopt a healthier lifestyle is urgently needed.

Dataset Information

Female physicians: trends and likely impacts on healthcare in Israel.

Background

Method

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Female physicians: trends and likely impacts on healthcare in Israel.

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