Dataset Information

Determinants of well-being and their interconnections in Australian general practitioners: a qualitative study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The well-being of doctors is recognised as a major priority in healthcare, yet there is little research on how general practitioners (GPs) keep well. We aimed to address this gap by applying a positive psychology lens, and exploring what determines GPs' well-being, as opposed to burnout and mental ill health, in Australia.

Design

Semi-structured qualitative interviews. From March to September 2021, we interviewed GPs working in numerous settings, using snowball and purposive sampling to expand recruitment across Australia. 20 GPs participated individually via Zoom. A semi-structured interview-guide provided a framework to explore well-being from a personal, organisational and systemic perspective. Recordings were transcribed verbatim, and inductive thematic analysis was performed.

Results

Eleven female and nine male GPs with diverse experience, from urban and rural settings were interviewed (mean 32 min). Determinants of well-being were underpinned by GPs' sense of identity. This was strongly influenced by GPs seeing themselves as a distinct but often undervalued profession working in small organisations within a broader health system. Both personal finances, and funding structures emerged as important moderators of the interconnections between these themes. Enablers of well-being were mainly identified at a personal and practice level, whereas systemic determinants were consistently seen as barriers to well-being. A complex balancing act between all determinants of well-being was evidenced.

Conclusions

GPs were able to identify targets for individual and practice level interventions to improve well-being, many of which have not been evaluated. However, few systemic aspects were suggested as being able to promote well-being, but rather seen as barriers, limiting how to develop systemic interventions to enhance well-being. Finances need to be a major consideration to prioritise, promote and support GP well-being, and a sustainable primary care workforce.

SUBMITTER: Naehrig D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9258487 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Determinants of well-being and their interconnections in Australian general practitioners: a qualitative study.

Naehrig Diana D Glozier Nick N Klinner Christiane C Acland Louise L Goodger Brendan B Hickie Ian B IB Milton Alyssa A

BMJ open 20220718 7

<h4>Objectives</h4>The well-being of doctors is recognised as a major priority in healthcare, yet there is little research on how general practitioners (GPs) keep well. We aimed to address this gap by applying a positive psychology lens, and exploring what determines GPs' well-being, as opposed to burnout and mental ill health, in Australia.<h4>Design</h4>Semi-structured qualitative interviews. From March to September 2021, we interviewed GPs working in numerous settings, using snowball and purp ...[more]

PMID: 35851015

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Project description:ObjectivesClinician well-being has been recognised as an important pillar of healthcare. However, research mainly addresses mitigating the negative aspects of stress or burnout, rather than enabling positive aspects. With the added strain of a pandemic, identifying how best to maintain and support the well-being, satisfaction and flourishing of general practitioners (GPs) is now more important than ever.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesWe searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, CINAHL and Scopus from 2000 to 2020.Study selectionIntervention studies with more than 50% GPs in the sample evaluating self-reported well-being, satisfaction and related positive outcomes were included. The Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool was applied.ResultsWe retrieved 14 792 records, 94 studies underwent full-text review. We included 19 studies in total. Six randomised controlled trials, three non-randomised, controlled trials, eight non-controlled studies of individual or organisational interventions with a total of 1141 participants. There were two quasi-experimental articles evaluating health system policy change. Quantitative and qualitative positive outcomes were extracted and analysed. Individual mindfulness interventions were the most common (k=9) with medium to large within-group (0.37-1.05) and between-group (0.5-1.5) effect sizes for mindfulness outcomes, and small-to-medium effect sizes for other positive outcomes including resilience, compassion and empathy. Studies assessing other intervention foci or other positive outcomes (including well-being, satisfaction) were of limited size and quality.ConclusionsThere is remarkably little evidence on how to improve GPs well-being beyond using mindfulness interventions, particularly for interventions addressing organisational or system factors. This was further undermined by inconsistent reporting, and overall high risk of bias. We need to conduct research in this space with the same rigour with which we approach clinical intervention studies in patients.Prospero registration numberCRD42020164699.Funding sourceDr Diana Naehrig is funded through the Raymond Seidler PhD scholarship.

Dataset Information

Determinants of well-being and their interconnections in Australian general practitioners: a qualitative study.

Objectives

Design

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Determinants of well-being and their interconnections in Australian general practitioners: a qualitative study.

Similar Datasets

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