title: How psychosocial factors affect well-being of practice assistants at work in general medical care?--a questionnaire survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Well-being at work is an important aspect of a workforce strategy. The aim of the study was to explore and evaluate psychosocial factors and health and work-related outcomes of practices assistants depending on their employment status in general medical practices.
  
  
  METHODS
  This observational study was based on a questionnaire survey to evaluate psychosocial aspects at work in general medical practices. A standardized questionnaire was used, the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ). Beside descriptive analyses linear regression analyses were performed for each health and work-related outcome scale of the COPSOQ.
  
  
  RESULTS
  586 practice assistants out of 794 respondents (73.8 %) from 234 general medical practices completed the questionnaire. Practice assistants reported the highest scores for the psychosocial factor 'sense of community' (mean = 85.9) and the lower score for 'influence at work' (mean = 41.2). Moreover, practice assistants who worked part-time rated their psychosocial factors at work and health-related outcomes more positively than full-time employees. Furthermore, the two scales of health related outcomes 'burnout' and 'job satisfaction' showed strong associations between different psychosocial factors and socio-demographic variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Psychosocial factors at work influence well-being at work and could be strong risk factors for poor health and work-related outcomes. Effective management of these issues could have an impact on the retention and recruitment of health care staff.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice and Health Services Research, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Vosstr. 2, Building 37, Heidelberg, D - 69115, Germany. katja.goetz@med.uni-heidelberg.de.|Institute of Family Medicine, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Luebeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Luebeck, D - 23538, Germany. katja.goetz@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Goetz
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice and Health Services Research, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Vosstr. 2, Building 37, Heidelberg, D - 69115, Germany. sarah.berger@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice and Health Services Research, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Vosstr. 2, Building 37, Heidelberg, D - 69115, Germany. amina.Gavartina@gmx.de.
authors.forename: Amina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gavartina
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice and Health Services Research, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Vosstr. 2, Building 37, Heidelberg, D - 69115, Germany. stavria.zaroti@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Stavria
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zaroti
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice and Health Services Research, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Vosstr. 2, Building 37, Heidelberg, D - 69115, Germany. joachim.szecsenyi@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Szecsenyi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000523:psychology; D000066498:Emotional Adjustment; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D010823:Physician Assistants / Q000523:psychology*; D011584:Psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires