Satisfaction of Family Physicians Working in Community Health Centers

Allison M. Cole; Mark Doescher; William R. Phillips; Paul Ford; Nancy G. Stevens

doi:10.3122/jabfm.2012.04.110295

Article Figures & Data

Tables

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Table 1. Instrument Used to Assess Physician Satisfaction
Please circle the number that indicates your satisfaction level with your principal practice.
Unsatisfied Highly Satisfied
Location 1 2 3 4 5
Partners 1 2 3 4 5
Employer 1 2 3 4 5
Hours 1 2 3 4 5
Income 1 2 3 4 5
How satisfied are you with your choice of specialty? Please circle one.
Unsatisfied Highly Satisfied
1 2 3 4 5
How satisfied are you with your residency training? Please circle one.
Unsatisfied Highly Satisfied
1 2 3 4 5

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Table 2. Characteristics of Respondent Family Physicians

Physician Characteristics	Total (N = 893)	CHC Physicians (n = 126)	Non-CHC Physicians (n = 764)	P
Men (%)	48	31	50	<.01^*
Mean years since residency graduation	1.75	1.74	1.77	.70
Full-time equivalent (mean)	0.92	0.91	0.92	.63
Involved in teaching (%)	83	83	83	.85
Community Characteristics
Practicing in town with population <10,000 (%)	27	18	27	.02^*
Median household income of practice community ($)	42,037	43,256	41,843	.30
African American (mean %)	5.0	4.5	5.1	.49
Hispanic (mean %)	8.1	8.9	8.0	.41
Practice Characteristics
Patients seen in 8 hours (mean)	20.6	20.5	20.6	.82
Proportion paid by salary alone (%)	42	29	44	<.01^*

↵* P < .05, χ² test.
CHC, community health centers.

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Table 3. Proportions of Physician Respondents Highly Satisfied (5 of 5) in Selected Dimensions

Dimensions	Total (%)	CHC Physicians (%)	Non-CHC Physicians (%)	P
Training	63.1	75.9	61.0	<.01^*
Specialty	62.6	74.4	60.6	<.01^*
Employer	71.6	61.7	73.2	.01^*
Partners	56.7	48.1	58.1	.03^*
Location	49.5	44.4	50.3	.20
Income	29.1	30.1	28.9	.79
Hours	38.7	39.1	38.6	.92

↵* P < .05, χ² test.
CHC, community health centers.

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Table 4. Unadjusted and Adjusted Odds Ratios and Goodness of Fit for Each Model Describing the Association between Community Health Center Physicians and Being Highly Satisfied in Specific Areas

	Unadjusted Odds Ratio	P	Adjusted Odds Ratio (95% Confidence Interval)^*	P	Hosmer-Lemeshow χ² (P) for Adjusted Model
Training	2.02	<.01	2.56 (1.50–4.36)	<.01^{^†}	10.8 (.3)
Specialty	1.89	<.01	1.71 (1.04–2.79)	.03^{^†}	9.7 (.4)
Employer	0.59	<.01	0.51 (0.32–0.82)	.01^{^†}	9.4 (.4)
Partners	0.67	.03	0.67 (0.43–1.04)	.07	7.7 (.6)
Location	0.79	.20	0.80 (0.52–1.24)	.31	7.2 (.6)
Income	1.06	.79	1.17 (0.73–1.89)	.50	6.3 (.7)
Hours	1.02	.92	1.23 (0.79–1.92)	.36	15.4 (.1)

↵* Adjusted using mixed effect models for sex, years in practice, full-time equivalent, teaching responsibility, community size, median income of practice community, reimbursement method, patient volume, survey year (fixed effect) and residency program (random effect).
↵† P < .05, Wald's test.
‡ Variables in the mixed effect model that were associated with satisfaction.