Consequence Analysis: Assessment of Psychosocial Risk Factors for Burnout in General Practitioners as a Predictor of Patient Dissatisfaction with Health Care in the Post-Pandemic Era

Abstract

Introduction: The observed high rate of mobilization of the medical community during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a high level of psycho-emotional and physical stress of health professionals, which persisted during the transitional and post-pandemic periods. Objective: To study the influence of psychosocial factors on the quality of work of general practitioners in the post-pandemic era and their effects on patient satisfaction with medical services. Materials and methods: In 2022–2023, a sociological survey was conducted in Moscow health facilities using internationally validated COPSOQ III (long version) and EUROPEP questionnaires and involving 340 general practitioners and 394 patients who visited them at least once over the past 12 months. The statistical analysis of collected data was carried out using the Statistica 10 and SPSS application software packages (p ≤ 0.05). Results: The comparison showed that, in terms of home visits, the workload of general practitioners was 2.1 and 1.8 times higher before and during the pandemic in the years 2019 and 2020, respectively, and 1.07 times higher than normal in 2021. Continuation of professional activities without a break for health improvement in the transition period caused fatigue leading to job dissatisfaction and severe burnout in 34.1 % of the general practitioners, which, in their turn, worsened interaction with patients and were the reason for dissatisfaction of 50.3 % of the responding patients with medical care. Study limitations: The survey was conducted among general practitioners and patients of Moscow. Conclusion: Prevention of job dissatisfaction and adverse effects of the latter on the level of satisfaction of the population with health care is related to the necessity to develop corporate programs for promoting health and reducing burnout risk in general practitioners working at Moscow health facilities.