Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, School of Medicine, Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, School of Medicine, Biostatistics, Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Director, Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Hum Resour Health. 2021 Mar 19;19(1):36. doi: 10.1186/s12960-021-00582-3.
Nearly one-third of medical school faculty members are age 55 + . As our population ages, the prevalence of family caregiving is increasing, yet we know very little about the caregiving experiences of aging faculty members in academic medicine. Faculty caregiving responsibilities coupled with projected physician shortages will likely impact the future academic medical workforce. We examined the prevalence of caregiving, concomitant caregiving strain, general well-being, and thoughts about retirement for medical school faculty members age 55 and older.
We analyzed data from a survey of 2,126 full-time medical school faculty 55 + years of age conducted in 2017. Chi-square tests of independence and independent samples t-tests were used to examine statistical differences between subgroups.
Of the 5,204 faculty members invited to complete the parent survey, 40.8% participated (N = 2126). Most were male (1425; 67.2%), White (1841; 88.3%), and married/partnered (1803; 85.5%). The mean age was 62.3 years. Of this sample, 19.0% (n = 396) reported providing care on an on-going basis to a family member, friend, or neighbor with a chronic illness or disability, including 22.4% (n = 154) of the female respondents and 17.3% (n = 242) of the male respondents. Among the caregiving faculty members, 90.2% reported experiencing some or a lot of mental or emotional strain from caregiving. Caregivers gave lower ratings of health, social and emotional support, and quality of life, but greater comfort in religion or spirituality than non-caregivers. Both caregiving and non-caregiving faculty members estimated retiring from full-time employment at age 67.8, on average.
These data highlight caregiving responsibilities and significant concomitant mental or emotional strain of a significant proportion of U.S. medical schools' rapidly aging workforce. Human resource and faculty development leaders in academia should strategically invest in policies, programs, and resources to meet these growing workforce needs.
近三分之一的医学院教师年龄在 55 岁以上。随着人口老龄化，家庭护理的比例正在增加，但我们对老年学术医学教师的护理经验知之甚少。教师的护理责任加上预计的医生短缺，可能会影响未来的学术医学劳动力。我们研究了 55 岁及以上医学教师的护理比例、伴随的护理压力、一般健康状况和退休想法。
我们分析了 2017 年对 2126 名 55 岁及以上全职医学教师进行的调查数据。使用独立性卡方检验和独立样本 t 检验来检验亚组之间的统计差异。
在邀请参加家长调查的 5204 名教师中，有 40.8%（N=2126）参与。大多数是男性（1425；67.2%），白人（1841；88.3%），已婚/伴侣（1803；85.5%）。平均年龄为 62.3 岁。在这个样本中，19.0%（n=396）报告他们在持续为有慢性疾病或残疾的家庭成员、朋友或邻居提供护理，其中 22.4%（n=154）为女性受访者，17.3%（n=242）为男性受访者。在护理教师中，90.2%报告说他们从护理中经历了一些或很多的精神或情绪压力。护理人员对健康、社会和情感支持以及生活质量的评价较低，但对宗教或精神的舒适度较高。护理人员和非护理人员都估计他们将在 67.8 岁时退休，平均而言。
这些数据突出了美国医学院迅速老龄化劳动力中相当一部分人的护理责任和显著的伴随精神或情绪压力。学术界的人力资源和教师发展领导者应该战略性地投资于政策、计划和资源，以满足这些不断增长的劳动力需求。
