Assessment of satisfaction of medical workers of obstetric services of rural areas with working conditions (on example of Ryazan region)

The Russian Federation is undergoing serious socio-economic changes, including those in the Russian healthcare system. High morbidity and mortality rates increase the population's need for medical care. It also increases the requirements of the society to doctors. Doctors have to solve not only medical, but also complicated legal, psychological, ethical problems.

Aim. To analyze satisfaction of medical workers of obstetric and gynecological service in rural areas with working conditions (on an example of the Ryazan region) on the basis of the results of questioning.

Materials and Methods. Acquisition of statistical material was carried out by the method of questioning of the obstetric and gynecological service workers (n=18) using the questionnaire developed by the authors. The questionnaire included questions concerning the working conditions, satisfaction with salary, organization of work, and also relationship with administration, colleagues and patients. Statistical data processing was carried out using Statistica 10.0 program. The method of descriptive statistics with determination of the arithmetic mean, variance and calculation of 95% confidence interval was used.

Results. It was found that 83.3% of employees of the obstetric and gynecological service of the Ryazan region, including 80.0% of doctors and 84.6% of midwives, were in general satisfied with the work. Here, 61.1% of respondents noted filling in of a large volume of reporting forms and medical documentation. Only 22.2% of the surveyed employees of the obstetric and gynecological service saw the absolute possibility of their professional growth in the medical organization. Relationships with patients were evaluated as full trust and mutual understanding by 72.2% of respondents.

Conclusion. The conducted pilot study clearly demonstrated that satisfaction of healthcare workers with working conditions implies many factors concerning the content and conditions of their professional activities. Improvement of the efficiency of the activity and job satisfaction of medical workers can be achieved by a number of measures based on the principles of quality management system: continuous improvement, leadership, staff involvement, relationship management. Increase in satisfaction of healthcare workers with working conditions is the basis for elimination of shortage of personnel in the healthcare sector, for provision of primary healthcare units including those in remote areas of the country and rural areas, with personnel, and assurance of the quality of medical care. The study showed that workers of the obstetric and gynecological service of the Ryazan region are generally satisfied with the working conditions, are provided with tools enabling them to take clinical decisions, highly appreciate the moral and psychological climate in the team. At the same time, a high percentage of respondents noted filling in a large volume of reporting forms and medical documentation, lack of opportunities for professional growth and low salaries.