School of Management, Weifang Medical University, NO. 7166, Western Baotong Road, Weifang, Shandong, China.
School of Public Health, Weifang Medical University, NO. 7166, Western Baotong Road, Weifang, Shandong, China.
BMC Prim Care. 2023 Jan 17;24(1):19. doi: 10.1186/s12875-023-01982-1.
Village doctors in China are not only the gatekeepers of rural residents' health but also the net bottom of the medical security system. However, emotional labour is increasingly threatening the stability of the rural primary medical system. In addition, the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has further exposed the vulnerability of human resources in China's rural health system. This study aims to evaluate the current situation of emotional labour among village doctors and explore the impact of emotional labour on job burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in December 2021 in Shandong Province. We used structured questionnaires to collect data, including sociodemographic characteristics, emotional labour, and job burnout. Data were analysed by t test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation analysis, and hierarchical multiple linear regression.
A total of 1,093 village doctors from Shandong Province participated in the study. More than half of the participants were male (62.40%) and were between 41 and 50 years old (53.43%). The total mean score of emotional labour was 3.17 ± 0.67, of which the surface acting (SA) score was 2.28 ± 0.90, and the deep acting (DA) score was 3.91 ± 0.93. There were significant differences in SA according to gender and work content (P < 0.05) and in DA according to gender, age, education level, and work content (P < 0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that SA was positively correlated with job burnout (P < 0.001), and DA was negatively correlated with job burnout (P < 0.001). Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis revealed that 29% of the variance in job burnout is attributable to SA (β = 0.530, P < 0.001) and DA (β = -0.154, P < 0.001).
Village doctors in Shandong Province performed moderate levels of emotional labour during the COVID-19 pandemic. SA had a significant positive effect on job burnout, while DA had a significant negative effect on job burnout among village doctors. Administrators should enhance training on emotional labour for village doctors to play a positive role in alleviating their job burnout.
中国的乡村医生不仅是农村居民健康的守门人，也是医疗保障体系的最底层。然而，情绪劳动正日益威胁着农村基层医疗体系的稳定性。此外，正在持续的 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行进一步暴露了中国农村卫生系统人力资源的脆弱性。本研究旨在评估乡村医生目前的情绪劳动状况，并探讨 COVID-19 大流行期间情绪劳动对乡村医生职业倦怠的影响。
2021 年 12 月在山东省进行了一项横断面调查。我们使用结构化问卷收集数据，包括社会人口学特征、情绪劳动和职业倦怠。采用 t 检验、方差分析（ANOVA）、皮尔逊相关分析和分层多元线性回归进行数据分析。
共有 1093 名来自山东省的乡村医生参与了研究。参与者中超过一半为男性（62.40%），年龄在 41 至 50 岁之间（53.43%）。情绪劳动的总平均分是 3.17±0.67，其中表面行为（SA）的得分为 2.28±0.90，深层行为（DA）的得分为 3.91±0.93。根据性别和工作内容，SA 在表面行为上存在显著差异（P<0.05），根据性别、年龄、教育水平和工作内容，DA 在深层行为上存在显著差异（P<0.05）。皮尔逊相关分析显示，SA 与职业倦怠呈正相关（P<0.001），DA 与职业倦怠呈负相关（P<0.001）。分层多元线性回归分析显示，职业倦怠的 29%可归因于 SA（β=0.530，P<0.001）和 DA（β=-0.154，P<0.001）。
山东省的乡村医生在 COVID-19 大流行期间表现出中等水平的情绪劳动。SA 对乡村医生的职业倦怠有显著的正向影响，而 DA 对乡村医生的职业倦怠有显著的负向影响。管理者应加强对乡村医生情绪劳动的培训，以发挥积极作用，缓解他们的职业倦怠。
