[Job satisfaction and improvement factors in primary care professionals]

The quality of services in a health system is related to the level of satisfaction of its professionals. The aim of this article is to determine job satisfaction in primary care professionals and rank those factors capable of improving it.

Descriptive study carried out in Navarre in 2010. A validated questionnaire was sent by post to the population of the study: primary care doctors, pediatricians and nurses. Variables on socio-demographic data were collected and job satisfaction was self-evaluated on a scale of 1 to 10. Respondents were asked to rank 10 factors that could improve the previously mentioned satisfaction. Averages were compared and bivariate analysis was carried out using the chi-square test, studying the association between variables through the Odds Ratio (OR). The adjusted analysis was realized through unconditional logistic regression.

We collected 432 questionnaires (77.5%). Average satisfaction was 6.7 (scale of 1 to 10), higher in nursing. Women showed a higher average than men (6.90:6.34). The workers at urban health centers (OR: 1.71; CI: 1.10-2.65) showed a higher risk of dissatisfaction with respect to professionals at rural centers. The training activities of the professional is the most highly valued item, followed by economic questions and questions of care pressure, with no differences found by profession.

Job satisfaction is a dimension of quality management in primary care and its study enables identification of problems or opportunities for improvement with an impact on the quality of the services offered.