The personal doctor reform in Sweden: perceived changes in working conditions

In primary care in Sweden, several organizational changes have been implemented during the last decades in order to facilitate a shift from a high proportion of hospital care to a more primary-health-based care. The personal doctor reform has been one of the most important during recent years, for both personnel and patients.

We aimed to compare perceived changes in psychosocial working conditions for GP and district nurses in regions with traditional primary care and regions that have implemented a personal doctor system.

A questionnaire was mailed to 566 GPs and 554 district nurses in four selected county councils, two with traditional primary care and two with a personal doctor system. The overall response rate was 83%. A factor analysis of data concerning the experience of the organizational change revealed the following factors: fellowship at work, demands on the individual, influence and control, competence development and stimulation at work.

In the group as a whole, there was a general experience of deterioration of working conditions in all aspects except stimulation at work. This tendency was mostly marked in the regions with a personal doctor system. In these regions, GPs and district nurses reported significantly more impairments concerning demands on the individual and competence development. In addition, the district nurses also found themselves less able to exercise influence and control. These changes are neither desirable nor necessary consequences of an organizational development. It is important to follow continuously the personnel's experience in a changing primary health care system.