Urban vs. Rural: A cross-sectional study on Job Satisfaction and Work Load among Young Physicians in Saxony

Abstract

A shortage of physicians and corresponding inadequate patient care threaten particularly rural, structurally weak regions. Previous studies have focused on factors that encourage or discourage doctors in their decision to establish a practice in rural areas. Little is known about factors such as job satisfaction and workload and geographical differences in Germany. The aim of the study was to investigate these factors in a detailed urban-rural comparison as part of a secondary data analysis. For this purpose, data from 1813 physicians practicing in Saxony (age: 25-40), who were contacted by post, were analyzed. The results show that there are only slight differences with regard to job satisfaction. In terms of workload, there are no significant differences between physicians working in rural or in urban areas. Since workload and job satisfaction are not different between doctors working in urban and rural regions, other approaches must be made to encourage more doctors to establish rural practices and thus improve patient care in rural regions.