Dataset Information

Does digital health technology improve physicians' job satisfaction and work-life balance? A cross-sectional national survey and regression analysis using an instrumental variable.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To examine the association between physicians' use of digital health technology and their job satisfaction and work-life balance.

Design

A cross-sectional nationally representative survey of physicians and probit regression models were used to examine the association between using digital health technology and the probability of reporting high job satisfaction and a good work-life balance. Models included a rich set of covariates, including physicians' personality traits, and instrumental variable analysis was used to control for bias from unobservable confounders and reverse causality.

Setting

Clinical practice settings in Australia, including physicians working in primary care, hospitals, outpatient settings, and physicians working in the public and private sectors.

Participants

Respondents to wave 11 (2018-2019) of the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) longitudinal survey of doctors. The analysis sample included a broadly nationally representative sample of 7043 physicians, including general practitioners, specialists and physicians in training.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

The proportion of respondents who used any digital health technology; proportion answered 'moderately satisfied' or 'very satisfied' to the statement on job satisfaction: 'Taking everything into account, how do you feel about your work'; proportion agreeing or strongly agreeing to the statement on work-life balance: 'The balance between my personal and professional commitments is about right.'

Results

Physicians with positive beliefs about the effectiveness of using digital health technology were 3.8?percentage points (95% CI 2.7 to 5.0) more likely to use digital health technology compared with those who did not. Physicians with colleagues who already used digital health technology were also 4.1?percentage points (95%?CI 2.6 to 5.6) more likely to use digital health technology. The availability of IT support and lack of privacy concerns increased the probability of using digital health technology by 1.6?percentage points (95%?CI 1.0 to 2.3) and 0.5?percentage points (95%?CI 0.1 to 1.0). Physicians who used digital health technology were 14.2?percentage points (95%?CI -1.3 to 29.7) and 20.3?percentage points (95%?CI 2.4 to 38.1) more likely to report respectively higher job satisfaction and good work-life balance, compared with the physicians who did not use it.

Conclusions

Findings suggested digital health technology served more as a work resource than work demand for physicians who used it.

SUBMITTER: Zaresani A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7735090 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Does digital health technology improve physicians' job satisfaction and work-life balance? A cross-sectional national survey and regression analysis using an instrumental variable.

Zaresani Arezou A Scott Anthony A

BMJ open 20201212 12

<h4>Objectives</h4>To examine the association between physicians' use of digital health technology and their job satisfaction and work-life balance.<h4>Design</h4>A cross-sectional nationally representative survey of physicians and probit regression models were used to examine the association between using digital health technology and the probability of reporting high job satisfaction and a good work-life balance. Models included a rich set of covariates, including physicians' personality trait ...[more]

PMID: 33310807

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Project description:BackgroundDigital technologies are increasingly being integrated into healthcare settings, including emergency departments, with the potential to improve efficiency and patient care. Although digitalisation promises many benefits, the use of digital technologies can also introduce new stressors and challenges among medical staff, which may result in the development of various negative work and health outcomes. Therefore, this study aims to identify existing digital stressors and resources among emergency physicians, examine associations with various work- and health-related parameters, and finally identify the potential need for preventive measures.MethodsIn this quantitative cross-sectional study, an online questionnaire was used to examine the relationship between digital stressors (technostress creators), digital resources (technostress inhibitors), technostress perception as well as mental health, job satisfaction and work engagement among 204 physicians working in German emergency medicine departments. Data collection lasted from December 2022 to April 2023. Validated scales were used for the questionnaire (e.g. "Technostress"-scale and the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ). Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were run to test explorative assumptions.ResultsThe study found medium levels of technostress perception among the participating emergency physicians as well as low levels of persisting technostress inhibitors. The queried physicians on average reported medium levels of exhaustion symptoms, high levels of work engagement and job satisfaction. Significant associations between digital stressors and work- as well as health-related outcomes were analyzed.ConclusionThis study provides a preliminary assessment of the persistence of digital stressors, digital resources and technostress levels, and their potential impact on relevant health and work-related outcomes, among physicians working in German emergency departments. Understanding and mitigating these stressors is essential to promote the well-being of physicians and ensure optimal patient care. As digitisation processes will continue to increase, the need for preventive support measures in dealing with technology stressors is obvious and should be expanded accordingly in the clinics. By integrating such support into everyday hospital life, medical staff in emergency departments can better focus on patient care and mitigate potential stress factors associated with digital technologies.

Project description:BackgroundPhysicians' work is often stressful. The digitalization of healthcare aims to streamline work, but not all physicians have experienced its realization. We examined associations of perceived changes in work due to digitalization and the amount of digital work with job strain among physicians. The moderating role of the length of work experience was investigated for these associations.MethodsWe used representative survey data on Finnish physicians' (N = 4271) experiences of digitalization from 2021. The independent variables included perceptions on statements about work transformations aligned with digitalization goals, and the extent that information systems and teleconsultations were utilized. Stress related to information systems (SRIS), time pressure, and psychological stress were the dependent variables. We analyzed the associations using multivariable linear and logistic regressions.ResultsRespondents had a mean SRIS score of 3.5 and a mean time pressure score of 3.7 on a scale of 1-5. Psychological stress was experienced by 60%. Perceptions associated with higher SRIS comprised disagreements with statements asserting that digitalization accelerates clinical encounters (b = .23 [95% CI: .16-.30]), facilitates access to patient information (b = .15 [.07-.23]), and supports decision-making (b = .11 [.05-.18]). Disagreement with accelerated clinical encounters (b = .12 [.04-.20]), and agreements with patients' more active role in care (b = .11 [.04-.19]) and interprofessional collaboration (b = .10 [.02-.18]) were opinions associated with greater time pressure. Disagreeing with supported decision-making (OR = 1.26 [1.06-1.48]) and agreeing with patients' active role (OR = 1.19 [1.02-1.40]) were associated with greater psychological stress. However, perceiving improvements in the pace of clinical encounters and access to patient information appeared to alleviate job strain. Additionally, extensive digital work was consistently linked to higher strain. Those respondents who held teleconsultations frequently and had less than 6 years of work experience reported the greatest levels of time pressure.ConclusionsPhysicians seem to be strained by frequent teleconsultations and work that does not meet the goals of digitalization. Improving physicians' satisfaction with digitalization through training specific to the stage of career and system development can be crucial for their well-being. Schedules for digital tasks should be planned and allocated to prevent strain related to achieving the digitalization goals.

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Dataset Information

Does digital health technology improve physicians' job satisfaction and work-life balance? A cross-sectional national survey and regression analysis using an instrumental variable.

Objectives

Design

Setting

Participants

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Does digital health technology improve physicians' job satisfaction and work-life balance? A cross-sectional national survey and regression analysis using an instrumental variable.

Similar Datasets

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