Clinician satisfaction with a preventive services implementation trial. The IMPROVE project.
OBJECTIVE
To discover how attempts to increase the delivery of preventive services affect clinician satisfaction.


METHODS
The IMPROVE project was a randomized clinical trial conducted in 44 clinics in and around Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Personnel were trained in continuous quality improvement techniques to organize preventive services delivery systems. Satisfaction with delivery of these services and with the sponsoring organizations was measured before the intervention (Time 1), at the end of the intervention (Time 2), and 1 year post-intervention (Time 3).


RESULTS
At no time was the intervention associated with a change in the respondents satisfaction with their places of work or with their job roles. Satisfaction with preventive services delivery increased from Time 1 to Time 3 among intervention-clinic respondents. Satisfaction with the IMPROVE project and the efforts of the two managed care organizations to help the clinics deliver preventive services peaked at Time 2 and declined toward baseline at Time 3. Satisfaction with preventive services delivery tended to increase more in the 13 intervention clinics that implemented a preventive services delivery system than in the nine intervention clinics that did not implement a preventive services delivery system (p = 0.15).


CONCLUSIONS
Planned organizational change to create systems for preventive services delivery can be associated with increased clinician satisfaction with the way these services are delivered. However, increased satisfaction with preventive services does not necessarily indicate that service delivery rates have increased.
Kottke
T E
TE
Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA. tkottke@mayo.edu
Solberg
L I
LI
Brekke
M L
ML
Magnan
S
S
Amundson
G M
GM
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006284:Health Plan Implementation; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000600:supply & distribution*