A Cluster Randomized Trial of Interventions to Improve Work Conditions and Clinician Burnout in Primary Care: Results from the Healthy Work Place Study

Published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the authors of the following study aimed to assess if improvements in work conditions improve clinician stress and burnout. Work conditions, such as time pressure, workplace chaos, and work control, as well as clinician outcomes, were measured at baseline and at 12–18 months. A brief worklife and work conditions summary measure was provided to staff and clinicians at intervention sites. Diverse interventions were grouped into three categories: 1) improved communication; 2) changes in workflow, and 3) targeted quality improvement (QI) projects. While there was no group treatment effect of baseline data on clinician outcomes, more intervention clinicians showed improvements in burnout and satisfaction. Burnout was more likely to improve with workflow interventions, and with targeted QI projects than in controls. Interventions in communication or workflow led to greater improvements in clinician satisfaction, and showed a trend toward greater improvement in intention to leave. 

Topics:
Organizational Strategies

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