Work-family conflict and prolonged fatigue among Japanese married male physicians.
OBJECTIVE
Fatigue experienced by physicians may not only endanger their own health but may also affect the safety of patients. Such fatigue may be associated with the work environment and personal factors such as work-family conflict (WFC). This study aimed to determine the association between WFC and prolonged fatigue among Japanese married male physicians.


METHODS
Physicians who graduated from a Japanese medical school answered a mailed anonymous self-report questionnaire. For assessment of WFC and prolonged fatigue, the Japanese versions of the WFC scale and the Checklist of Individual Strength questionnaire (CIS) were used. Prolonged fatigue was defined as the upper quartile of total CIS scores. The WFC scale comprises six dimensions. Total scores were divided into tertiles: low, intermediate, and high levels of WFC. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between WFC and prolonged fatigue.


RESULTS
A total of 540 male physicians answered the questionnaire, and the data of 444 married male physicians were analyzed. The data were then adjusted for age and work condition factors. Prolonged fatigue was significantly associated with high strain-based work interference with family (WIF; corrected odds ratio, 5.56; 95% confidence interval, 2.55-12.1), intermediate strain-based WIF (2.53, 1.25-5.10), high time-based family interference with work (FIW; 1.92, 1.08-3.40), and there was a weak association with high strain-based FIW (1.93, 0.98-3.83).


CONCLUSIONS
Employers should take measures to improve working conditions in hospitals, and give physicians the opportunity to learn how to cope with WFC. These measures could ultimately help prevent prolonged fatigue.
Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Kitasato University School of Medicine, 1-15-1 Kitasato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0374, Japan.
Hiroshi
H
Ohta
Koji
K
Wada
Masatoshi
M
Kawashima
Mayuri
M
Arimatsu
Toshiaki
T
Higashi
Toru
T
Yoshikawa
Yoshiharu
Y
Aizawa
D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000523:psychology; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology*; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000208:ethnology; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D018454:Spouses / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology*
JAMA. 2009 Sep 23;302(12):1294-300
19773564
J Occup Health. 2008;50(4):317-27
18493112
Occup Environ Med. 2006 Aug;63(8):558-63
16601015
Occup Environ Med. 2008 Jun;65(6):428-9
18487428
Occup Environ Med. 2003 Jun;60 Suppl 1:i71-6
12782750
N Engl J Med. 2002 Oct 17;347(16):1249-55
12393823
BMC Public Health. 2009 Nov 30;9:435
19943980
Sangyo Eiseigaku Zasshi. 2006 May;48(3):71-81
16801732
BMC Public Health. 2008 Oct 07;8:353
18840296
J Occup Health. 2009;51(4):303-13
19483368
Occup Environ Med. 2000 May;57(5):353-7
10769302
N Engl J Med. 1982 Feb 25;306(8):458-63
7057844
Occup Environ Med. 2003 Jun;60 Suppl 1:i88-92
12782753
South Med J. 2000 Oct;93(10):966-73
11147478
Occup Environ Med. 2003 Jun;60 Suppl 1:i32-9
12782745
J Occup Health Psychol. 2001 Apr;6(2):91-100
11326728
J Psychosom Res. 1994 Jul;38(5):383-92
7965927
J Occup Health. 2007 Nov;49(6):453-60
18075205
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2008 Oct;82(1):59-66
18330593
Am J Surg. 2009 Jun;197(6):820-5; discussion 826-7
19375063
Occup Environ Med. 2006 Jul;63(7):488-94
16698806