| Project Name: |
Provider Well-Being |
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| Co-Investigator: |
Wallace, Lemaire, Gilmour, and White |
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The well-being of health care providers, and the effects of interaction with new technologies on the work experience
The physical and mental well-being of health care providers is an important challenge in health care, and there is increasing recognition that research into the health care work force is a top priority (see ‘Listening for Direction II – A consultation from the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation on priorities in health services research). Furthermore, there is increasing awareness that the ‘unwell’ provider may be a factor that can adversely influence quality of care and patient safety. In recognition of these issues, the W21C team proposes to embark on research addressing some of these issues. Various phases of work involving interviews and surveys of providers are planned, with a W21C-specific focus for some aspects of the work, and a broader system-wide perspective for other aspects of the work.
The over-riding objective of this program of work involving W21C team members Wallace, Lemaire, Gilmour, and White is to identify key issues relevant to providers' quality of work life and career development based on data collected from a variety of providers in the areas of medicine, nursing, and paramedical disciplines. This objective will be addressed by 1) asking providers about their work-related experiences and how those influence their overall quality of life, as well as their professional career development and overall job satisfaction; 2) exploring whether these factors are related to age, gender, rank, discipline, scholarly focus (e.g., research, education, clinical), and family status; and 3) asking respondents to describe coping strategies (if any) that they may use, their effectiveness and how their work impacts on other parts of their life (e.g., family or leisure time).
The research involves two different data collection strategies: 1) in-depth interviews and 2) questionnaires. The face-to-face interviews will be conducted on representative samples of providers, and these permit detailed and in-depth exploration of key concerns and issues relevant to providers’ career development and quality of life. These data will be complemented by quantitative information from standardized questionnaires that measure attitudes and other key variables using validated instruments. The latter quantitative measures will then permit the W21C team to conduct longitudinal evaluations (through repeated assessments) of provider job satisfaction, work attitudes, and well-being. Such evaluations will inform decision-makers on the potential need for work environment changes.
In related work, Dr. Jean Wallace and colleagues will assess the impact (both positive and negative) that interactions with new technologies have on the provider work experience. That research is alluded to in some of the technology project descriptions above, and it will involve a similar combination of qualitative
inquiry and quantitative survey-based research assessing provider perspectives.
This research is uniquely made possible by the W21C Initiative’s convergence of multidisciplinary research faculty with multidisciplinary health care providers in our ‘living laboratory’, and it is anticipated that many novel insights and provider-centred solutions will emerge regarding the well-being of the health care workforce.
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