Premium
Physician Practice Characteristics and Satisfaction: A Rural‐urban Comparison of Medical Directors at US. Community and Migrant Health Centers
Author(s) -
Shi Leiyu,
Samuels Michael E.,
Cochran Christopher R.,
Glover Saundra,
Singh Douglas A.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
the journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.439
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1748-0361
pISSN - 0890-765X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-0361.1998.tb00640.x
Subject(s) - logistic regression , family medicine , community health center , rural area , survey data collection , medicine , patient satisfaction , cross sectional study , center (category theory) , psychology , gerontology , nursing , statistics , chemistry , mathematics , pathology , crystallography
For this study, the association between physician practice characteristics and satisfaction of medical directors at rural and urban Community and Migrant Health Centers (C/MHCs) was investigated. Data for this study came from a 1996 cross‐sectional survey of C/MHCs' medical directors. A total of 411 centers (68.3 percent) responded to the survey, including 240 rural (67.4 percent) and 171 urban (68.7 percent) C/MHCs. Factor analysis was used to synthesize physician practice characteristics related to overall satisfaction. The resulting factors were entered as new variables in a predictive logistic regression model of overall satisfaction. Growing up in an inner‐city community was significantly associated with practicing in an urban center; whereas, growing up in a rural or frontier community was more likely to result in practicing in a rural center. The majority of medical directors (82.3 percent) were either somewhat satisfied or very satisfied with their work. Satisfaction with work was most significantly associated with overall level of satisfaction, followed by satisfaction with administration, peers and patients. Recruitment efforts are more likely to succeed when they target individuals with prior exposure to underserved areas. Improving the working conditions and interactions with administrators would help sustain the high level of satisfaction experienced by medical directors at CIMHCs.