Unfavourable working conditions for female GPs. A comparison between Swedish general practitioners and district nurses.
OBJECTIVE
The aim was to analyse gender and occupational differences in the psychosocial working conditions of general practitioners (GPs) and district nurses (DNs) in Sweden.


METHODS
A stratified random sample of GPs (n = 566) and DNs (n = 554) from four county councils in Sweden. The overall participation rate was 83%.


METHODS
Primary health care.


METHODS
A mailed questionnaire comprising 10 items providing demographic data and 36 items on psychosocial working conditions was used. The questionnaire had been tested for validity and reliability. A factor analysis included five items: strains and symptoms, professional content, social support at work, workload and job control.


RESULTS
Professional content was the most positively rated aspect, whereas workload was the most negatively rated. GPs perceived a higher workload and lower social support than did the DNs. Female GPs scored significantly more negatively than both male GPs and female DNs did in four out of the five factors. Female GPs reported a high workload, low job control and low social support at work. Female DNs, too, reported a high workload, relatively low job control but fairly strong social support.


CONCLUSIONS
Female GPs perceived more unfavourable psychosocial working conditions than both male GPs and female DNs did in the same organisational setting.
Department of Medicine and Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University Sweden. susan.wilhelmsson@lio.se
Susan
S
Wilhelmsson
Mats
M
Foldevi
Ingemar
I
Akerlind
Tomas
T
Faresjö
D000328:Adult; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010822:Physicians, Women / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D016526:Workload / Q000706:statistics & numerical data