Factors that influence the turnover intention of Chinese village doctors based on the investigation results of Xiangyang City in Hubei Province

Abstract

IntroductionThis study analyzes the factors that influence the turnover intention of village doctors by investigating village clinic workers in rural areas, particularly in Xiangyang City, Hubei Province.MethodsA total of 1184 village clinics were sampled randomly in Xiangyang City. The research assistants distributed 1930 questionnaires to village doctors. This study had a response rate of 97.88%. A total of 1889 village doctors completed the questionnaires.ResultsThe results of the investigation conducted in Xiangyang City indicated that 63.2% of the village doctors did not plan to leave the organization where they were currently employed. However, more than one-third (36.8%) of the village doctors considered leaving their posts voluntarily. Some job satisfaction indexes affect their intention to resign. The results showed that income satisfaction and the way organization policies are put into practice, in addition, my pay and the amount of work I do, the chances for advancement on this job and the work conditions are significant factors that contribute to the turnover intention of village doctors.ConclusionsThis study may interest heath care management administrator and highlight the influence of job satisfaction on turnover intention of village doctors. Our findings outline some issues that contribute to these problems and suggest an approach for health care policy maker to implement a broader national process and organizational strategies to improve the job satisfaction and stability of the village doctors.

The influence of job satisfaction, resilience and work engagement on turnover intention among village doctors in China: a cross-sectional study

“…Since the training of doctors requires a long-term education and practice [13], high turnover tendency may lead to huge transition costs and serious loss of patients' confidence, which is a serious problem for the stability of hospitals and the medical system [14,15]. Numerous studies have analysed the influencing factors of doctors' turnover intention, including a country's medical system, occupational environment, doctor-patient relationship, level of employment and alternative job opportunities, and other external environmental factors [3,[16][17][18]. Internal individual factors include gender, age, marital status and work ability [4,19,20].…”

“…However, these researches have not involve the impact of resilience. At the same time, the existing studies have mostly used the ttest, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and chi-square test, as well as multivariate statistical analysis to analyse the influencing factors of turnover intention [3,4,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) can not only accurately and quantitatively measure the correlation between observed variables, but also track and deeply dig the correlation between latent variables, and even the causal relationship between measured variables.…”

Determinants of village doctors’ job satisfaction under China’s health sector reform: a cross-sectional mixed methods study

“…The only research on this topic was carried out in one province and suggested that the job satisfaction of village doctors was low [18]. However, it did not discuss the relevant policy factors and how they affect job satisfaction and using data from only one province ignores the varied economic status and health reform processes among different areas of China [19–21]. The purpose of this mixed-method study is to describe village doctors’ job satisfaction under the context of health sector reform and investigate the associated factors, using a survey data from three provinces.…”

Job Satisfaction Analysis in Rural China: A Qualitative Study of Doctors in a Township Hospital

“…With the current level of rapid economic growth and social development, China's health system faces new challenges, such as the increased demands and expenditures for health care, inefficient use of health care resources, and an imbalanced distribution of the medical workforce. The central government of China passed a landmark program related to the health system in 2009, which was aimed at improving both health care for all citizens by strengthening disease control and the primary care system [1, 2]. The new medical reform program calls for building “a strong rural health service network while improving the wages of rural doctors.”…”