Professional identity and related factors of general practitioners in Western China: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background The higher professional identity of general practitioners (GPs) helps to promote the establishment of hierarchical diagnosis and treatment in China. However, previous studies focus on the investigation of specialists. As the main provider of residents’ health services, GPs are the basis of primary health care services in China. This study aims to investigate the professional identity of GPs and its influencing factors. Methods A cross-sectional online questionnaire survey was conducted from December 2021 to January 2022, and subjects were selected by two-stage stratified random sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 2,200 GPs (99.1% response rate) in Chongqing, a municipality in western China. Practicing identity was measured by the Practicing Identity Scale, psychological capital was measured by the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-24), and patients were measured by the Perceptual Patient Slowness Questionnaire. Through the construction of a multiple linear regression model to analyze correlation, the related factors of GPs’ professional identity are discussed. Results The total score of professional identity of GPs was 65, with an average score of 53.59 (SD = 6.42). The scores of self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience in psychological capital were 26.87 ± 5.70, 26.47 ± 5.74, 26.97 ± 5.55, and 26.86 ± 5.59, respectively. The score of perceived patients was 34.19 ± 7.59. Average monthly income, management responsibility, work tenure, self-efficacy, hope, resilience, and patient’s contempt are related to practice identity (P < 0.05). Conclusions GPs in Chongqing, a municipality directly under the central government in western China have high professional identity and strong psychology.