Job satisfaction of family physicians in European countries with different strengths of care coordination

Abstract

Background. Job satisfaction of family physicians (FPs) is vitally important not only for the well-being of physicians but also for the quality of health services. Coordination of care is one of the core dimensions of strong primary care. However, studies focused on the association between care coordination and the job satisfaction of FPs is scarce. Objectives. To explore whether the factors influencing the job satisfaction of FPs differ in countries with different strengths of coordination. Material and methods. Across-sectional study was conducted among FPs in ten European countries which were divided into three groups in terms of care coordination. An online questionnaire was disseminated by e-mail to groups of FPs. Socio-demographic, working conditions and workload features were included as independent variables. Job satisfaction as the outcome variable was measured with one question. The Chi-square test was used for comparative analysis. Results. 278 FPs (72% of the targeted sample size) participated. The job satisfaction of FPs in strong and medium-level care coordination groups was higher than their counterparts in the weak-level care coordination group (p < 0.001). No association was found between the socio-demographics and workload features with job satisfaction. Only the non-existence of a gate-keeping system was associated with the increased job satisfaction of FPs in the medium-level care coordination group (p = 0.01). Conclusions. Primary health care is responsible for the coordination of care within the gigantic healthcare system, and FPs play a role in guiding patients. Studying the association between care coordination and the job satisfaction of FPs might help to build better healthcare systems. The gate-keeping system deserves special attention in this research area.