Multimodal leadership intervention to improve job satisfaction of general practice teams

Abstract

<strong>Introduction: </strong> The health of general practice teams is crucial for sustainable healthcare systems. However, general practice teams are highly burdened by chronic stress and burnout. Burdening work factors and leadership are among the most influential predictors of the psychological well-being of general practice teams. Based on this evidence, the IMPROVEjob study evaluated job satisfaction before (publication 1) and after participation in the IMPROVEjob intervention for general practice teams (publication 2). A simulation analysis addressed the issue of waiting times in practices (publication 3). <br /> <strong>Methods: </strong> The IMPROVEjob intervention consisted of theoretical inputs and practical skills trainings: in two leadership workshops the topics leadership, communication, workflows and work organization were addressed. The primary outcome job satisfaction was measured by the respective scale of the German version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (German COPSOQ, version 2018). The main secondary outcomes were chronic stress (Trier Inventory for the Assessment of Chronic Stress Screening) and leadership (questionnaire on Integrative Leadership). <br /> <strong>Results: </strong> Publication 1 showed a high degree of job satisfaction at baseline as well as high levels of chronic stress among general practice teams. As shown in publication 2, no significant effect of the IMPROVEjob intervention on job satisfaction was detected at follow-up due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the intervention was very well accepted by the participants. Furthermore, we showed a high influence of workflows (variation of consultation time) on patient waiting times which is a known major stressor for general practice teams (publication 3). <br /> <strong>Discussion: </strong> The multimodal IMPROVEjob intervention was appropriate and well-tailored to the target group, but lacked effect due to the Covid-19 pandemic as an unforeseen major event. In addition, there is a need for further studies to address the complex work situation in general practices as a multi-parameter scenario aiming at improving job satisfaction and reducing chronic stress in general practice samples.