Family Physician Motivation and Well-Being in the Digital Era

Family physicians rapidly shifted to using virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet it is largely unknown if this change has impacted their workplace motivation. A better understanding of this matter is essential for optimizing the integration of virtual care into standard practice and for supporting family physician well-being. Using a self-determination theory lens, we examined if family physicians experienced autonomous (vs controlled) motivation toward using virtual care, how this related to their subjective well-being, and whether satisfaction (vs frustration) of their basic psychological needs at work mediated that relationship.

Using cross-sectional survey methodology, quantitative data was collected from 156 family physicians in Alberta, Canada. The questionnaire contained validated scales for measuring motivational quality, workplace need fulfillment, and subjective well-being. Descriptive, correlational, and mediation analyses were performed.

Family physicians varied significantly in their quality of motivation towards using virtual care. Controlled motivation toward using virtual care was associated with lower well-being, and workplace need frustration fully mediated that relationship. Conversely, workplace need satisfaction, but not autonomous motivation toward using virtual care, was associated with higher well-being.

In line with self-determination theory, findings suggest that when family physicians' motivation toward using virtual care is less self-determined, it will lead to poorer subjective well-being, because of basic psychological need frustration. Potential implications of the findings are discussed within the contexts of virtual health and primary care.